skip to main content


Title: Low frequency electrochemical noise in AlGaN/GaN field effect transistor biosensors
Little has been studied on how the electrochemical noise impacts the limit of detection of field effect transistor (FET) biosensors. Herein, we investigate low frequency noise associated with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) solutions at varying ionic strengths (Ni) under both weak and strong gate biases corresponding to saturation and sub-threshold regimes, respectively, in AlGaN/GaN heterojunction FET biosensors. We show that the electrochemical noise is strongly dependent on the ionic strength and gate biasing conditions. In the saturation regime (low bias), varying the ionic strength (a range of 10−6× PBS to PBS 1 × stock solutions used for testing) has little to no effect on the characteristic frequency exponent 𝛽(𝛽=1), indicating a predominately diffusion-based process. Conversely, under higher biases (sub-threshold regime), the β parameter varies from 1 to 2 with ionic strength exhibiting both diffusion and drift characteristics, with a “cut point” at approximately 10−5× PBS (𝑁𝑖≈9×1014/mL). Under a high bias, once the PBS concentration reaches 10−3×, the behavior is then drift dominant. This indicates that the higher bias likely triggers electrochemical reactions and by extension, faradaic effects at most physiologically relevant ionic strengths. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the device has an inverse linear relationship with the low frequency current noise. The device exhibits a higher SNR in the sub-threshold regime than in the saturation regime. Specifically, within the saturation regime, an inversely proportional relationship between the SNR and the ionic concentration is observed. The electrochemical noise induced from ionic activities is roughly proportional to 𝑁−1/2𝑖.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1809570
NSF-PAR ID:
10314193
Author(s) / Creator(s):
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Applied physics letters
Volume:
117
ISSN:
1520-8842
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. Abstract

    A systematic analysis is used to understand electrical drift occurring in field‐effect transistor (FET) dissolved‐analyte sensors by investigating its dependence on electrode surface‐solution combinations in a remote‐gate (RG) FET configuration. Water at pH 7 and neat acetonitrile, having different dipoles and polarizabilities, are applied to the RG surface of indium tin oxide, SiO2, hexamethyldisilazane‐modified SiO2, polystyrene, poly(styrene‐co‐acrylic acid), poly(3‐hexylthiophene‐2,5‐diyl) (P3HT), and poly [3‐(3‐carboxypropyl)thiophene‐2,5‐diyl] (PT‐COOH). It is discovered that in some cases a slow reorientation of dipoles at the interface induced by gate electric fields causes severe drift and hysteresis because of induced interface potential changes. Conductive and charged P3HT and PT‐COOH increase electrochemical stability by promoting fast surface equilibrations. It is also demonstrated that pH sensitivity of P3HT (17 mV per pH) is an indication of proton doping. PT‐COOH shows further enhanced pH sensitivity (30 mV per pH). This combination of electrochemical stability and pH response in PT‐COOH are proposed as advantageous for polymer‐based biosensors.

     
    more » « less
  2. A low-operating voltage and stable pentacene field-effect transistor (FET) employing thin low-dielectric constant gate layer of poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) dissolved in propylene carbonate (PC) has been realized. This device exhibiting high field-effect mobility, a threshold voltage of −1 V, and a small sub-threshold slope at operating voltages below −3 V is compared with an FET cast from PMMA film dissolved in a low dipole moment solvent. The negligible hysteresis and excellent electrical stability of FETs under gate bias stress with the use of PC are traceable to the low density of trap states in PMMA bulk and at the interfaces.

     
    more » « less
  3. To support the ever-growing demand for faster, energy-efficient computation, more aggressive scaling of the transistor is required. Two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), with their ultra-thin body, excellent electrostatic gate control, and absence of surface dangling bonds, allow for extreme scaling of the channel region without compromising the mobility. New device geometries, such as stacked nanosheets with multiple parallel channels for carrier flow, can facilitate higher drive currents to enable ultra-fast switches, and TMDs are an ideal candidate for that type of next generation front-end-of-line field effect transistor (FET). TMDs are also promising for monolithic 3D (M3D) integrated back-end-of-line FETs due to their ability to be grown at low temperature and with less regard to lattice matching through van der Waals (vdW) epitaxy. To achieve TMD FETs with superior performance, two important challenges must be addressed: (1) complementary n- and p-type FETs with small and reliable threshold voltages are required for the reduction of dynamic and static power consumption per logic operation, and (2) contact resistance must be reduced significantly. We present here the underlying strengths and weaknesses of the wide variety of methods under investigation to provide scalable, stable, and controllable doping. It is our Perspective that of all the available doping methods, substitutional doping offers the ultimate solution for TMD-based transistors.

     
    more » « less
  4. The demand for high power and high-frequency radio frequency (RF) power amplifiers makes AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) an attractive option due to their large critical field, high saturation velocity, and reduced device footprint as compared to Si-based counterparts. However, due to the high operating power densities, intense device self-heating occurs, which degrades the electrical performance and compromises the device’s reliability. The self-heating behavior of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs is known to be not solely a function of the dissipated power but is highly bias-dependent. As the operation of RF power amplifiers involves alteration of the device operation from fully-open to pinched-off channel conditions, it is critical to experimentally map the full channel temperature profile as a function of bias conditions. However, such measurement is difficult using optical thermography techniques due to the lack of optical access underneath the gate electrode, where the peak temperature is expected to occur.

    To address this challenge, an AlGaN/GaN HEMT employing a transparent gate made of indium tin oxide (ITO) was fabricated, which enables full channel temperature mapping using Raman spectroscopy. It was found that the maximum channel temperature rise under a partially pinched-off condition is more than ∼93% higher than that for an open channel condition, although both conditions would lead to an identical power dissipation level. The channel peak temperature probed in an ITO-gated device (underneath the gate) is ∼33% higher than the highest channel temperature that can be measured for a standard metal-gated AlGaN/GaN HEMT (i.e., next to the metal gate structure) operating under an identical bias condition. This indicates that one may significantly underestimate the device’s thermal resistance when solely relying on performing thermal characterization on the optically accessible region of a standard AlGaN/GaN HEMT. The outcomes of this study are important in terms of conducting a more accurate lifetime prediction of the device lifetime and designing thermal management solutions.

     
    more » « less
  5. Abstract

    Random‐noise‐induced biases are inherent issues to the accurate derivation of second‐order statistical parameters (e.g., variances, fluxes, energy densities, and power spectra) from lidar and radar measurements. We demonstrate here for the first time an altitude‐interleaved method for eliminating such biases, following the original proposals by Gardner and Chu (2020,https://doi.org/10.1364/ao.400375) who demonstrated a time‐interleaved method. Interleaving in altitude bins provides two statistically independent samples over the same time period and nearly the same altitude range, thus enabling the replacement of variances that include the noise‐induced biases with covariances that are intrinsically free of such biases. Comparing the interleaved method with previous variance subtraction (VS) and spectral proportion (SP) methods using gravity wave potential energy density calculated from Antarctic lidar data and from a forward model, this study finds the accuracy and precision of each method differing in various conditions, each with its own strengths and weakness. VS performs well in high‐SNR, yet its accuracy fails at lower‐SNR as it often yields negative values. SP is accurate and precise under high‐SNR, remaining accurate in worse conditions than VS would, yet develops a positive bias under low‐SNR. The interleaved method is accurate in all SNRs but requires a large number of samples to drive random‐noise terms in covariances toward zero and to compensate for the reduced precision due to the splitting of return signals. Therefore, selecting the proper bias removal/elimination method for actual signal and sample conditions is crucial in utilizing lidar/radar data, as neglecting this can conceal trends or overstate atmospheric variability.

     
    more » « less