Au nanoparticle (AuNP)-decorated silicon nanowire (SiNW) field-effect transistors (FETs) were made using a top-down technique to enhance the sensing responses and long-term reliability for the detection of ammonia (NH3). The as-fabricated, diluted hydrofluoric acid (dHF)-treated, and AuNP-decorated SiNW FETs were prepared and characterized at room temperature. These SiNW FETs show better sensitivity and low power consumption in the subthreshold regime than in the linear regime. To evaluate the long-term responses, devices were operated over a period of 120 days. The dHF-treated SiNW FET showed a significant degradation in sensitivity as a function of time, even though it showed the highest sensitivities in the initial stage. The SiNW with AuNPs showed the lowest long-term variation of sensitivity with sufficient linearity. The SiNW with AuNPs showed the lowest drift as low as -0.067%/day for current sensitivity and -0.024%/day for voltage sensitivity, respectively. These results suggest that the deposition of AuNPs on SiNW is very useful for improving the long-term variation in chemical sensing applications.

Highly sensitive silicon-nanonet biologically active field-effect transistors (BioFETs) for the detection of influenza A (H1N1) virus have been demonstrated using a top-down process. The BioFETs show excellent intrinsic electrical characteristics, such as a low threshold voltage of 0.7 V and high on/off current ratio of ∼107. The sensing characteristics were measured at room temperature with various concentrations of H1N1 virus in a range of 10 pg/ml -100 ng/ml. The current-related sensitivity (SI) shows a higher value in the subthreshold regime, where SI is strongly correlated with the subthreshold swing (SS). The voltage-related sensitivity (SV) shows almost constant behavior from the subthreshold regime to the linear regime. The limit of detection (LOD) was 10 pg/ml, which is 6 times lower than values previously reported for FET-type sensors. In addition, the nanonet sensors exhibit high specificity to influenza A virus with negligible false positive for influenza B virus.

We experimentally demonstrate Si-based electrolyte-gated transistors (EGTs) for detecting urea. The top-down-fabricated device exhibited excellent intrinsic characteristics, including a low subthreshold swing (SS) (~80 mV/dec) and a high on/off current ratio (~10⁷). The sensitivity, which varied depending on the operation regime, was analyzed with the urea concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 316 mM. The current-related response could be enhanced by reducing the SS of the devices, whereas the voltage-related response remained relatively constant. The urea sensitivity in the subthreshold regime was as high as 1.9 dec/pUrea, four times higher than the reported value. The extracted power consumption of 0.3 nW was extremely low compared to other FET-type sensors.

The highly sensitive detection of peanut allergens (PAs) using silicon-based electrolyte-gated transistors (Si-EGTs) was demonstrated. The Si-EGT was made using a top-down technique. The fabricated Si-EGT showed excellent intrinsic electrical characteristics, including a low threshold voltage of 0.7 V, low subthreshold swing of <70 mV/dec, and low gate leakage of <10 pA. Surface functionalization and immobilization of antibodies were performed for the selective detection of PAs. The voltage-related sensitivity (S_V) showed a constant behavior from the subthreshold regime to the linear regime. The current-related sensitivity (S_I) was high in the subthreshold regime and then significantly decreased as the drain current increased. The limit of detection (LOD) was calculated to be as low as 25 pg/mL based on S_I characteristics, which is the lowest value reported to date in the literature for various sensor methodologies. The Si-EGT showed selective detection of PA through a non-specific control test. These results confirm that Si-EGT is a high-sensitivity and low-power biosensor for PA detection.

We report the electrical characteristics and pH responses of a Si-nanonet ion-sensitive field-effect transistor with ultra-thin parylene-H as a gate sensing membrane. The fabricated device shows excellent DC characteristics: a low subthreshold swing of 85 mV/dec, a high current on/off ratio of ~10⁷ and a low gate leakage current of ~10⁻¹⁰ A. The low interface trap density of 1.04 × 10¹² cm⁻² and high field-effect mobility of 510 cm²V⁻¹s⁻¹ were obtained. The pH responses of the devices were evaluated in various pH buffer solutions. A high pH sensitivity of 48.1 ± 0.5 mV/pH with a device-to-device variation of ~6.1% was achieved. From the low-frequency noise characterization, the signal-to-noise ratio was extracted as high as ~3400 A/A with the lowest noise equivalent pH value of ~0.002 pH. These excellent intrinsic electrical and pH sensing performances suggest that parylene-H can be promising as a sensing membrane in an ISFET-based biosensor platform.

The effects of geometrical parameters on the electrical characteristics of network-channel low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) thin-film transistors (TFTs) were investigated. The grain boundary and interface trap densities were also extracted using parameters such as hole-to-hole distance, hole-branch top width, effective channel width, and area filling factor ( A _F ). It was found that the electrical characteristics were largely dependent on A _F , mainly owing to reduced trap densities. However, excessive hole formation in the network-channel structure was found to increase channel resistance and decrease drain current. These results suggest that, for a given footprint device area, denser hole patterns are preferred for achieving better electrical characteristics in novel network-channel LTPS TFTs.