Impact of Transport Mechanism on Binding Kinematics and Sensitivity of FET Biosensors

Abstract

In this work, the impact of bioanalyte concentration and the dominant transport mechanism of biomolecules on the binding kinematics of the target biomolecules at the sensing surface have been investigated in detail. A comprehensive analysis of the fundamental parameters such as equilibrium response time and equilibrium density of the binding molecules at the sensing surface considering different concentrations of the analytes and their transport mechanisms has been performed. The impact of these realistic artifacts on the current sensitivity of emerging junctionless field effect transistors (JLFETs) and tunnel field effect transistors (TFETs)-based ion-sensitive field effect transistor (ISFET) has been investigated. Moreover, depending on the bioanalyte concentration, design guidelines for the dimensions of the sensing surface have been provided for a minimum limit of detection (LOD). The impact of charge screening and nonspecific binding on current sensitivity has also been discussed in depth. We believe that the guidelines presented in this work will enable the community to conceptualize, understand, and design novel label-free biosensors more rationally considering the practical scenario.