Search

The quality of graphene intended for use in biosensors was assessed on manufactured chips using a set of methods including atomic force microscopy (AFM), Raman spectroscopy, and low-frequency noise investigation. It is shown that local areas of residues on the graphene surface, formed as a result of the interaction of graphene with a photoresist at the initial stage of chip development, led to a spread of chip resistance (R) in the range of 1–10 kOhm and to an increase in the root mean square (RMS) roughness up to 10 times, which can significantly worsen the reproducibility of the parameters of graphene chips for biosensor applications. It was observed that the control of the photoresist residues after photolithography (PLG) using AFM and subsequent additional cleaning reduced the spread of R values in chips to 1–1.6 kOhm and obtained an RMS roughness similar to the roughness in the graphene film before PLG. Monitoring of the spectral density of low-frequency voltage fluctuation (SU), which provides integral information about the system of defects and quality of the material, makes it possible to identify chips with low graphene quality and with inhomogeneously distributed areas of compressive stresses by the type of frequency dependence SU(f). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we discuss the mechanisms behind changes in the conductivity, low-frequency noise, and surface morphology of biosensor chips based on graphene films on SiC substrates during the main stages of the creation of biosensors for detecting influenza viruses. The formation of phenylamine groups and a change in graphene nano-arrangement during functionalization causes an increase in defectiveness and conductivity. Functionalization leads to the formation of large hexagonal honeycomb-like defects up to 500 nm, the concentration of which is affected by the number of bilayer or multilayer inclusions in graphene. The chips fabricated allowed us to detect the influenza viruses in a concentration range of 10−16 g/mL to 10−10 g/mL in PBS (phosphate buffered saline). Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that these defects are responsible for the inhomogeneous aggregation of antibodies and influenza viruses over the functionalized graphene surface. Non-uniform aggregation is responsible for a weak non-linear logarithmic dependence of the biosensor response versus the virus concentration in PBS. This feature of graphene nano-arrangement affects the reliability of detection of extremely low virus concentrations at the early stages of disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]