Scalable chemical vapor deposited graphene field-effect transistors for bio/chemical assay

Abstract

The adsorption of chemical species on the surface of graphene alters the concentration of charge carries by either increasing or decreasing it depending on the nature of the adsorbed chemical species and inducing noticeable changes in the material's electronic properties. This remarkable feature enables graphene-based sensors to detect a wide range of biomolecules, chemicals, and gas/vapors. A lot of progress has been made in this field and technologies based on reduced graphene oxide flakes have been well reviewed. Graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition has proven to be the most prominent route to large-scale production of devices. However, until now, a comprehensive review on scalable, macro-sized, chemical vapor-deposited, graphene-based field-effect transistor sensors was missing. Here we review the present status, current challenges, and future prospects for the bio/chemical sensing applications of scalable, chemical vapor-deposited, graphene field-effect transistors. We explain and examine the fabrication techniques, sensing mechanisms, and various assay strategies. We also discuss the sensing performance of graphene based on quantum mechanics simulations and theoretical calculations.