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Label-free potentiometric detection of DNA molecules using a field-effect transistor (FET) with a gold gate offers an electrical sensing platform for rapid, straightforward, and inexpensive analyses of nucleic acid samples. To induce DNA hybridization on the FET sensor surface to enable potentiometric detection, probe DNA that is complementary to the target DNA has to be immobilized on the FET gate surface. A common method for probe DNA functionalization is based on thiol-gold chemistry, immobilizing thiol-modified probe DNA on a gold gate with thiol-gold bonds. A self-assembled monolayer (SAM), based on the same thiol-gold chemistry, is also needed to passivate the rest of the gold gate surface to prevent non-specific adsorption and to enable favorable steric configuration of the probe DNA. Herein, the applicability of such FET based potentiometric DNA sensing was carefully investigated, using a silicon nanoribbon FET (SiNRFET) with a gold sensing gate modified with thiol-gold chemistry. We discover that the potential of the gold sensing electrode was determined by the mixed potential of the gold-thiol and gold-oxygen redox interactions. This mixed potential gives rise to a redox buffer effect which buffers the change in the surface charge induced by the DNA hybridization, thus suppressing the potentiometric signal. Analogous redox buffer effects may also be present for other types of potentiometric detections of biomarkers based on thiol-gold chemistry.

Random trapping and detrapping of charged carriers in the vicinity of gate oxide/Si interface has for long been considered as the dominant noise source in Si nanowire (SiNW) FET-based biochemical sensors. Here we extend our previous work presenting a Schottky junction tri-gate SiNWFETs (SJGFET) fabricated on a bonded siliconon-insulator (SOI) substrate, aiming for ultra-low device noise generation. The SJGFET exhibits near-ideal gate coupling efficiency with a subthreshold swing of similar to 66 mV/dec. Its gate-referred voltage noise, S-vg, are 1.2 x 10(-10) and 1.1 x 10(-11) V-2 mu m(2)/ H z at 1 and 10 Hz, respectively. These S-vg values are significantly lower than that of previously reported FET-based sensors. More importantly, S-vg of the SJGFET are below the reported voltage noise generated by the oxide/electrolyte sensing interface. Using our SJGFET as the signal transducer can greatly relieve the concern of the adverse effect from the intrinsic device noise in biochemical sensing applications.

In the subsurface, the interplay between microbial communities and the surrounding mineral substrate, potentially used as an energy source, results in different mineralized structures. The molecular composition of such structures can record and preserve information about the metabolic pathways that have produced them. To characterize the molecular composition of the subsurface biosphere, we have analyzed some core samples by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) that were collected in the borehole BH8 during the operations of the Mars Analog and Technology Experiment (MARTE) project. The molecular analysis at a micron-scale mapped the occurrence of several inorganic complexes bearing PO3-, SOx(2to4)-, NOx(2,3)-, FeOx(1,2)- SiO2-, and Cl-. Their distribution correlates with organic molecules that were tentatively assigned to saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, saccharides, phospholipids, sphingolipids, and potential peptide fragments. SOx- appear to be mineralizing some microstructures larger than 25 microns, which have branched morphologies, and that source SO3-bearing adducts. PO3-rich compounds occur in two different groups of microstructures which size, morphology, and composition are different. While a group of >40-micron sized circular micronodules lacks organic compounds, an ovoidal microstructure is associated with m/z of other lipids. The NO2-/NO3- and Cl- ions occur as small microstructure clusters (<20 microns), but their distribution is dissimilar to the mineralized microstructures bearing PO3-, and SO3-. However, they have a higher density in areas with more significant enrichment in iron oxides that are traced by different Fe-bearing anions like FeO2-. The distribution of the organic and inorganic negative ions, which we suggest, resulted from the preservation of at least three microbial consortia (PO4-, and NO2-/NO3-mineralizers PO4-lipid bearing microstructures), would have resulted from differen

Suspended single-hole transistors (SHTs) can also serve as nanoelectromechanical resonators, providing an ideal platform for investigating interactions between mechanical vibrations and charge carriers. Demonstrating such a device in silicon (Si) is of particular interest, due to the strong piezoresistive effect of Si and potential applications in Si-based quantum computation. Here, a suspended Si SHT also acting as a nanoelectromechanical beam resonator is demonstrated. The resonant frequency and zero-point motion of the device are approximate to 3 GHz and 0.2 pm, respectively, reaching the best level among similar devices demonstrated with Si-containing materials. The mechanical vibration is transduced to electrical readout by the SHT. The signal transduction mechanism is dominated by the piezoresistive effect. A giant apparent effective piezoresistive gauge factor with strong correlation to single-hole tunneling is extracted in this device. The results show the great potential of the device in interfacing charge carriers with mechanical vibrations, as well as investigating potential quantum behavior of the vibration phonon mode.

Conventional homojunction bipolar junction transistors (BJTs) are not suitable for cryogenic operation due to heavy doping-induced emitter band-gap narrowing and strong degradation in current gain (β) at low temperature. In this letter, we show that, on lateral version of the BJTs (LBJTs) fabricated on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate, such β degradation can be mitigated by applying a substrate bias (V sub ), and a β over unity is achieved in a base current (I B ) range over 5 orders of magnitudes at 4.2 K, with a peak β ~ 100 demonstrated. The β improvement is explained by the enhanced electron tunneling through base region as a result of base barrier lowering and thinning by a positive Vsub, which leads to dramatic increase of collector current (IC) while IB is negligibly affected.

This letter presents a systematic study of how the substrate bias (Vsub) modulation affects the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics and low-frequency noise (LFN) of lateral bipolar junction transistors (LBJTs) fabricated on a silicon-on-insulator(SOI) substrate. The current gain (β) of npn LBJTs at low base voltage can be greatly improved bya positive Vsub as a result of enhanced electron injection into the base near the buried oxide (BOX)/silicon interface. However, an excessive positive Vsub may also adversely affect the LFN performance by amplifying the noise generated as a result of carrier trapping and detrapping at that interface. Our results provide a practical guideline for improving both β and the overall noise performance when using our LBJT as a local signal amplifier.

Knowledge of interfacial interactions between analytes and functionalized sensor surfaces, from where the signal originates, is key to the development and application of electronic sensors. The present work explores the tunability of pH sensitivity by the synergy of surface charge and molecular dipole moment induced by interfacial proton interactions. This synergy is demonstrated on a silicon‐nanoribbon field‐effect transistor (SiNR‐FET) by functionalizing the sensor surface with properly designed chromophore molecules. The chromophore molecules can interact with protons and lead to appreciable changes in interface dipole moment as well as in surface charge state. In addition, the dipole moment can be tuned not only by the substituent on the chromophore but also by the anion in the electrolyte interacting with the protonated chromophore. By designing surface molecules to enhance the surface dipole moment upon protonation, an above‐Nernstian pH sensitivity is achieved on the SiNR‐FET sensor. This finding may bring an innovative strategy for tailoring the sensitivity of the SiNR‐FET‐based pH sensor toward a wide range of applications.

The sensitivity of metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) based nanoscale sensors is ultimately limited by noise induced by carrier trapping/detrapping processes at the gate oxide/semiconductor interfaces. We have designed a Schottky junction gated silicon nanowire field-effect transistor (SiNW-SJGFET) sensor, where the Schottky junction replaces the noisy oxide/semiconductor interface. Our sensor exhibits significantly reduced noise, 2.1×10-9 V2µm2/Hz at 1 Hz, compared to reference devices with the oxide/semiconductor interface operated at both inversion and depletion modes. Further improvement can be anticipated by wrapping the nanowire by such a Schottky junction thereby eliminating all oxide/semiconductor interfaces. Hence, a combination of the low-noise SiNW-SJGFET sensor device with a sensing surface of the Nernstian response limit holds promises for future high signal-to-noise ratio sensor applications.