Abstract
In this work, a single-crystalline silicon nanobelt field-effect transistor (SiNB FET) device was developed and applied to pH and biomolecule sensing. The nanobelt was formed using a local oxidation of silicon technique, which is a self-aligned, self-shrinking process that reduces the cost of production. We demonstrated the effect of buffer concentration on the sensitivity and stability of the SiNB FET sensor by varying the buffer concentrations to detect solution pH and alpha fetoprotein (AFP). The SiNB FET sensor was used to detect a solution pH ranging from 6.4 to 7.4; the response current decreased stepwise as the pH value increased. The stability of the sensor was examined through cyclical detection under solutions with different pH; the results were stable and reliable. A buffer solution of varying concentrations was employed to inspect the sensing capability of the SiNB FET sensor device, with the results indicating that the sensitivity of the sensor was negatively dependent on the buffer concentration. For biomolecule sensing, AFP was sensed to test the sensitivity of the SiNB FET sensor. The effectiveness of surface functionalization affected the AFP sensing result, and the current shift was strongly dependent on the buffer concentration. The obtained results demonstrated that buffer concentration plays a crucial role in terms of the sensitivity and stability of the SiNB FET device in chemical and biomolecular sensing.
Highlights
Chemical and biological sensors have attracted much attention because of their wide applicability in daily life [1,2,3,4]
The SC SiNB Field-effect transistor (FET) sensor devices were fabricated in the Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute (Hsinchu)
The SC SiNB FET sensor devices were fabricated in the Taiwan Semiconductor Re3 of 12 search Institute (Hsinchu)
Summary
Chemical and biological sensors have attracted much attention because of their wide applicability in daily life [1,2,3,4]. The demand for reliable, ultrasensitive, and portable sensors is increasing in fields such as disease diagnostics, human health, and environmental monitoring [5,6]. The sensor-detection of trace amounts of cancer markers benefits patients in receiving preventative health care and early-stage treatment that can greatly increase cancer survival rates. Conventional methods of sensing biomolecules use enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and polymerase chain reactions [7,8,9,10], which sense antigen or antibody levels and DNA fragments, respectively. Both methods require fluorescent molecule labeling on the sensing targets. Other disadvantages include the requirement of complicated pretreatment before sensing, unportable devices, and relatively insensitive sensing
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