Polycrystalline Silicon ISFETs on Glass Substrate

The Ion Sensitive Field Effect Transistor (ISFET) operation based on polycrystalline silicon thin film transistors is reported. These devices can be fabricated on inexpensive disposable substrates such as glass or plastics and are, therefore, promising candidates for low cost single-use intelligent multisensors. In this work we have developed an extended gate structure with PE-CVD Si3N4 deposited on top of a conductor, which also provides the electrical connection to the remote TFT gate. Nearly ideal pH sensitivity (54 mV/pH) and stable operation have been achieved. Temperature effects have also been characterized. A penicillin sensor has been fabricated by functionalizing the sensing area with penicillinase. The shift increases almost linearly upon the increase of penicillin concentration until saturation is reached for ~ 7 mM. Poly-Si TFT structures with a gold sensing area have been also successfully applied to field-effect detection of DNA.