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Advanced Field-Effect Sensors: Volume II

A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Physical Sensors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 August 2023) | Viewed by 3771

Special Issue Editor

Department of Physics “E.R. Caianiello”, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy
Interests: optical and electrical properties of nanostructured materials such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, and 2D materials; van der Waals heterostructures and Schottky junctions; field-effect transistors; non-volatile memories; solar cells; photodetectors; field emission devices
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sensor devices based on the field-effect principle have been used for more than fifty years in a variety of applications, ranging from bio-chemical sensing to radiation detection or environmental parameter monitoring. The basic working principle of field-effect sensors is the same as that of field-effect transistors (FETs), in which the conductance between two electrodes (source and drain) is controlled by the electric field generated by a gate.

Field-effect biochemical sensors have found increasing applications for pH and molecular or DNA sensing since the proposal of the ion-sensitive field-effect transistor (ISFET) by Bergerveld in 1968.

Field-effect devices have been extensively exploited for gas and pressure sensing. Photo-FETs are popular light intensity sensors. FETs, both the junction (JFET) and metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOSFET) type, are widely used as photodetectors and ionizing radiation detectors or dosimeters in radioprotection, radiotherapy, medicine, and dentistry.

FETs enable the production of sensitive temperature sensors and piezoelectric strain gauges.

The advent of nanostructured materials in the past three decades has created opportunities to integrate new sensing materials or develop innovative architectures in field-effect-based sensors. The optimization of existing devices, research on new field-effect structures and fabrication techniques, and the design of novel electronic systems for signal amplification and processing are currently underway.

A great advantage of field-effect sensors is that they provide intrinsic signal amplification and can be integrated with the electronics needed for the sensor signal processing on the same semiconductor chip. Moreover, field-effect sensors feature high sensitivity, low cost, and miniaturization.

Field-effect-based sensing offers several challenges that stem from the highly interdisciplinary nature of the problems encountered, in which knowledge of material science, surface chemistry and physics, biomolecular kinetics, electronic engineering, etc. are required.

This Special Issue will present the recent progress in the fabrication, design, understanding, and utilization of field-effect sensors for any applications.

The Special Issue will collect research papers that report novel experimental, theoretical, or simulation results that deal with field-effect sensors. Review articles that offer comprehensive coverage of specific aspects or new insights and perspectives are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Antonio Di Bartolomeo
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sensors is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 2756 KiB  
Article
Ultra-Scaled Si Nanowire Biosensors for Single DNA Molecule Detection
by Aryan Afzalian and Denis Flandre
Sensors 2023, 23(12), 5405; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23125405 - 07 Jun 2023
Viewed by 882
Abstract
In this study, we use NEGF quantum transport simulations to study the fundamental detection limit of ultra-scaled Si nanowire FET (NWT) biosensors. A N-doped NWT is found to be more sensitive for negatively charged analytes as explained by the nature of the detection [...] Read more.
In this study, we use NEGF quantum transport simulations to study the fundamental detection limit of ultra-scaled Si nanowire FET (NWT) biosensors. A N-doped NWT is found to be more sensitive for negatively charged analytes as explained by the nature of the detection mechanism. Our results predict threshold voltage shifts due to a single-charge analyte of tens to hundreds of mV in air or low-ionic solutions. However, with typical ionic solutions and SAM conditions, the sensitivity rapidly drops to the mV/q range. Our results are then extended to the detection of a single 20-base-long DNA molecule in solution. The impact of front- and/or back-gate biasing on the sensitivity and limit of detection is studied and a signal-to-noise ratio of 10 is predicted. Opportunities and challenges to reach down to single-analyte detection in such systems are also discussed, including the ionic and oxide-solution interface-charge screening and ways to recover unscreened sensitivities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Field-Effect Sensors: Volume II)
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15 pages, 3855 KiB  
Article
MOSFE-Capacitor Silicon Carbide-Based Hydrogen Gas Sensors
by Artur Litvinov, Maya Etrekova, Boris Podlepetsky, Nikolay Samotaev, Konstantin Oblov, Alexey Afanasyev and Vladimir Ilyin
Sensors 2023, 23(7), 3760; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23073760 - 05 Apr 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1353
Abstract
The features of the wide band gap SiC semiconductor use in the capacitive MOSFE sensors’ structure in terms of the hydrogen gas sensitivity effect, the response speed, and the measuring signals’ optimal parameters are studied. Sensors in a high-temperature ceramic housing with the [...] Read more.
The features of the wide band gap SiC semiconductor use in the capacitive MOSFE sensors’ structure in terms of the hydrogen gas sensitivity effect, the response speed, and the measuring signals’ optimal parameters are studied. Sensors in a high-temperature ceramic housing with the Me/Ta2O5/SiCn+/4H-SiC structures and two types of gas-sensitive electrodes were made: Palladium and Platinum. The effectiveness of using Platinum as an alternative to Palladium in the MOSFE-Capacitor (MOSFEC) gas sensors’ high-temperature design is evaluated. It is shown that, compared with Silicon, the use of Silicon Carbide increases the response rate, while maintaining the sensors’ high hydrogen sensitivity. The operating temperature and test signal frequency influence for measuring the sensor’s capacitance on the sensitivity to H2 have been studied. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Field-Effect Sensors: Volume II)
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12 pages, 2206 KiB  
Article
Structure and Technological Parameters’ Effect on MISFET-Based Hydrogen Sensors’ Characteristics
by Boris Podlepetsky, Nikolay Samotaev, Maya Etrekova and Artur Litvinov
Sensors 2023, 23(6), 3273; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23063273 - 20 Mar 2023
Viewed by 1200
Abstract
The influence of structure and technological parameters (STPs) on the metrological characteristics of hydrogen sensors based on MISFETs has been investigated. Compact electrophysical and electrical models connecting the drain current, the voltage between the drain and the source and the voltage between the [...] Read more.
The influence of structure and technological parameters (STPs) on the metrological characteristics of hydrogen sensors based on MISFETs has been investigated. Compact electrophysical and electrical models connecting the drain current, the voltage between the drain and the source and the voltage between the gate and the substrate with the technological parameters of the n-channel MISFET as a sensitive element of the hydrogen sensor are proposed in a general form. Unlike the majority of works, in which the hydrogen sensitivity of only the threshold voltage of the MISFET is investigated, the proposed models allow us to simulate the hydrogen sensitivity of gate voltages or drain currents in weak and strong inversion modes, taking into account changes in the MIS structure charges. A quantitative assessment of the effect of STPs on MISFET performances (conversion function, hydrogen sensitivity, gas concentration measurement errors, sensitivity threshold and operating range) is given for a MISFET with a Pd-Ta2O5-SiO2-Si structure. In the calculations, the parameters of the models obtained on the basis of the previous experimental results were used. It was shown how STPs and their technological variations, taking into account the electrical parameters, can affect the characteristics of MISFET-based hydrogen sensors. It is noted, in particular, that for MISFET with submicron two-layer gate insulators, the key influencing parameters are their type and thickness. Proposed approaches and compact refined models can be used to predict performances of MISFET-based gas analysis devices and micro-systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Field-Effect Sensors: Volume II)
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