pH Response of Silicon Nanowire Sensors: Impact of Nanowire Width and Gate Oxide

We present a systematic study of the performance of silicon nanowires (SiNWs) with different widths when they are used as ion-sensitive field-effect transistors (ISFETs) in pH-sensing experiments. The SiNW widths ranged from 100 nm to 1 mu m. The SiNW-ISFETs were successfully fabricated from silicon...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sensors and materials 2013-01, Vol.25 (8), p.567-576
Main Authors: Bedner, Kristine, Guzenko, Vitaliy Anatolijovic, Tarasov, Alexey, Wipf, Mathias, Stoop, Ralph Lukas, Just, David, Rigante, Sara, Fu, Wangyang, Minamisawa, Renato Amaral, David, Christian, Calame, Michel, Gobrecht, Jens, Schonenberger, Christian
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Dielectrics
Gates
Hafnium oxide
Nanostructure
Nanowires
Oxides
Sensors
Silicon
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Summary:We present a systematic study of the performance of silicon nanowires (SiNWs) with different widths when they are used as ion-sensitive field-effect transistors (ISFETs) in pH-sensing experiments. The SiNW widths ranged from 100 nm to 1 mu m. The SiNW-ISFETs were successfully fabricated from silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers with Al sub(2)O sub(3) or HfO sub(2) as gate dielectric. All the SiNWs showed a pH Response close to the Nernstian limit of 59.5 mV/pH at 300 K, independent of their width, or the investigated gate dielectric or operating mode. Even nanowires (NWs) in the 100 nm range operated reliably without degradation of their functionality. This result is of importance for a broad research field using SiNW sensors as a candidate for future applications.
ISSN:0914-4935
DOI:10.18494/sam.2013.890