Dielectrically Modulated Label Free Metal Controlled Organic Thin Film Transistor for Biosensing Applications

• Published in: IEEE sensors journal 2021-08, Vol.21 (16), p.18318-18325
• Main Authors: Rashid, Shazia, Bashir, Faisal, Khanday, Farooq A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biomolecules; Biosensing; Biosensors; Charge density; Dielectric constant; Field effect transistors; innovation; Low temperature; metal implant; Metals; Organic thin film transistors; OTFT; Pentacene; Semiconductor devices; Sensitivity; Sensitivity enhancement; Sensors; Thin film transistors; Thin films; Transistors; Work functions
• ISSN: 1530-437X; 1558-1748
• DOI: 10.1109/JSEN.2021.3084040

In this work, a novel structure of Dielectrically Modulated Organic Thin Film Transistor (OTFT) for biosensing applications is presented. The proposed device uses lateral metal contacts and an implanted metal with work function of 5.7 eV inside the organic material; as such it is being named as Metal Controlled Organic Thin Film Transistor (MC-OTFT). The performed 2D simulation study has revealed that the proposed MC-OTFT shows significantly higher sensitivity for different dielectric constants and their related charge densities. Besides, the calibrated simulation study has shown that the change in ON current ( {I} _{{ON}}{} sensing factor calculated for {V} _{{DS}}=- 1.5{V} , {V} _{{GS}}=-3\,\,{V} ) in MC-OTFT is significantly higher (max. of 44.40 times for neutral, 44.55 times for charged biomolecule at \rho = - 1\times 10^{12} cm −2 ). In addition, a considerable enhancement in sensitivity at low temperatures has been observed. The proposed device therefore offers a huge potential for biosensing applications.