Gate-modulated graphene quantum point contact device for DNA sensing

In this paper, we present a computational model to describe the electrical response of a constricted graphene nanoribbon (GNR) to biomolecules translocating through a nanopore. For this purpose, we use a self-consistent 3D Poisson equation solver coupled with an accurate three-orbital tight-binding...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of computational electronics 2014-12, Vol.13 (4), p.839-846
Main Authors: Girdhar, Anuj, Sathe, Chaitanya, Schulten, Klaus, Leburton, Jean-Pierre
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bias
Biomolecules
Boundary conditions
Carrier density
Conductance
Devices
Electric contacts
Electrical Engineering
Electrodes
Electrons
Energy
Engineering
Gates
Geometry
Graphene
Hydrogen
Mathematical and Computational Engineering
Mathematical and Computational Physics
Mathematical models
Mechanical Engineering
Nanoribbons
Nanostructure
Optical and Electronic Materials
Point contact
Poisson equation
Screening
Sensitivity
Theoretical
Transistors
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Summary:In this paper, we present a computational model to describe the electrical response of a constricted graphene nanoribbon (GNR) to biomolecules translocating through a nanopore. For this purpose, we use a self-consistent 3D Poisson equation solver coupled with an accurate three-orbital tight-binding model to assess the ability for a gate electrode to modulate both the carrier concentration as well as the conductance in the GNR. We also investigate the role of electrolytic screening on the sensitivity of the conductance to external charges and find that the gate electrode can either suppress or enhance the screening of biomolecular charges in the nanopore depending on the value of its potential. Translocating a double-stranded DNA molecule along the pore axis imparted a large change in the conductance at particular gate voltages, suggesting that such a device can be used to sense translocating biomolecules and can be actively tuned to maximize its sensitivity.
ISSN:1569-8025
1572-8137
DOI:10.1007/s10825-014-0596-6