Nanosensors-Assisted Quantitative Analysis of Biochemical Processes in Droplets.

: Here, we present a miniaturized lab-on-a-chip detecting system for an all-electric and label-free analysis of the emulsion droplets incorporating the nanoscopic silicon nanowires-based field-effect transistors (FETs). We specifically focus on the analysis of ß-galactosidase e.g.activity, which is an important enzyme of the glycolysis metabolic pathway. Furthermore, the efficiency of the synthesis and action of ß-galactosidase can be one of the markers for several diseases, e.g., cancer, hyper/hypoglycemia, cell senescence, or other disruptions in cell functioning. We measure the reaction and reaction kinetics-associated shift of the source-to-drain current Isd in the system, which is caused by the change of the ionic strength of the microenvironment. With these results, we demonstrate that the ion-sensitive FETs are able to sense the interior of the aqueous reactors; thus, the conjunction of miniature nanosensors and droplet-based microfluidic systems conceptually opens a new route toward a sensitive, optics-less analysis of biochemical processes.

Negative Photoconductance in Heavily Doped Si Nanowire Field-Effect Transistors.

We report the first observation of negative photoconductance (NPC) in n- and p-doped Si nanowire field-effect transistors (FETs) and demonstrate the strong influence of doping concentrations on the nonconventional optical switching of the devices. Furthermore, we show that the NPC of Si nanowire FETs is dependent on the wavelength of visible light due to the phonon-assisted excitation to multiple conduction bands with different band gap energies that would be a distinct optoelectronic property of indirect band gap semiconductor. We attribute the main driving force of NPC in Si nanowire FETs to the photogenerated hot electrons trapping by dopants ions and interfacial states. Finally, comparing back- and top-gate modulation, we derive the mechanisms of the transition between negative and positive photoconductance regimes in nanowire devices. The transition is decided by the competition between the light-induced interfacial trapping and the recombination of mobile carriers, which is dependent on the light intensity and the doping concentration.

Super-resolution visible photoactivated atomic force microscopy.

Imaging the intrinsic optical absorption properties of nanomaterials with optical microscopy (OM) is hindered by the optical diffraction limit and intrinsically poor sensitivity. Thus, expensive and destructive electron microscopy (EM) has been commonly used to examine the morphologies of nanostructures. Further, while nanoscale fluorescence OM has become crucial for investigating the morphologies and functions of intracellular specimens, this modality is not suitable for imaging optical absorption and requires the use of possibly undesirable exogenous fluorescent molecules for biological samples. Here we demonstrate super-resolution visible photoactivated atomic force microscopy (pAFM), which can sense intrinsic optical absorption with ~8 nm resolution. Thus, the resolution can be improved down to ~8 nm. This system can detect not only the first harmonic response, but also the higher harmonic response using the nonlinear effect. The thermoelastic effects induced by pulsed laser irradiation allow us to obtain visible pAFM images of single gold nanospheres, various nanowires, and biological cells, all with nanoscale resolution. Unlike expensive EM, the visible pAFM system can be simply implemented by adding an optical excitation sub-system to a commercial atomic force microscope.

Chemical Gated Field Effect Transistor by Hybrid Integration of One-Dimensional Silicon Nanowire and Two-Dimensional Tin Oxide Thin Film for Low Power Gas Sensor.

Gas sensors based on metal-oxide-semiconductor transistor with the polysilicon gate replaced by a gas sensitive thin film have been around for over 50 years. These are not suitable for the emerging mobile and wearable sensor platforms due to operating voltages and powers far exceeding the supply capability of batteries. Here we present a novel approach to decouple the chemically sensitive region from the conducting channel for reducing the drive voltage and increasing reliability. This chemically gated field effect transistor uses silicon nanowire for the current conduction channel with a tin oxide film on top of the nanowire serving as the gas sensitive medium. The potential change induced by the molecular adsorption and desorption allows the electrically floating tin oxide film to gate the silicon channel. As the device is designed to be normally off, the power is consumed only during the gas sensing event. This feature is attractive for the battery operated sensor and wearable electronics. In addition, the decoupling of the chemical reaction and the current conduction regions allows the gas sensitive material to be free from electrical stress, thus increasing reliability. The device shows excellent gas sensitivity to the tested analytes relative to conventional metal oxide transistors and resistive sensors.

High efficiency silicon solar cell based on asymmetric nanowire.

Improving the efficiency of solar cells through novel materials and devices is critical to realize the full potential of solar energy to meet the growing worldwide energy demands. We present here a highly efficient radial p-n junction silicon solar cell using an asymmetric nanowire structure with a shorter bottom core diameter than at the top. A maximum short circuit current density of 27.5 mA/cm(2) and an efficiency of 7.53% were realized without anti-reflection coating. Changing the silicon nanowire (SiNW) structure from conventional symmetric to asymmetric nature improves the efficiency due to increased short circuit current density. From numerical simulation and measurement of the optical characteristics, the total reflection on the sidewalls is seen to increase the light trapping path and charge carrier generation in the radial junction of the asymmetric SiNW, yielding high external quantum efficiency and short circuit current density. The proposed asymmetric structure has great potential to effectively improve the efficiency of the SiNW solar cells.

Optimized operation of silicon nanowire field effect transistor sensors.

Ion-sensitive field effect transistors have been advanced in recent years by utilizing silicon nanowires (Si-NWs), but establishing their optimized operation regime is an area of ongoing research. We propose a modified configuration of SiNWs in the form of a honeycomb structure to obtain high signal to noise ratio and high current stability. The low-frequency noise characteristics and the electrical stress are systematically considered for the optimization and compared against conventional SiNW devices. The operation voltage of the device severely affects the sensing stability; as the gate voltage is increased, the signal-to-noise ratio is enhanced, however, the stress effect becomes severe, and vice versa. The honeycomb nanowire structure shows enhanced noise characteristics in low voltage operation, proving to be an optimum solution for achieving highly stable sensor operation.

Suspended honeycomb nanowire ISFETs for improved stiction-free performance.

This paper reports high performance ion-sensitive field-effect transistors (ISFETs) with a suspended honeycomb nanowire (SHNW) structure. The SHNW can provide a longer, stiction-free channel than that which is possible with a suspended straight nanowire (SSNW) for the realization of gate-all-around biosensors. Devices with SHNWs, SSNWs and conventional nanowires on the substrate have been fabricated using a top-down approach in order to compare their electrical performances. The SHNW devices exhibit excellent electrical characteristics such as lower subthreshold swing, higher transconductance and higher linear drain current. In addition, the SHNW ISFETs show better pH sensitivity than other ISFETs. Based on the results, the SHNW device appears promising for enhancing the intrinsic performance and ensuring the reliable operation of biosensor applications.

Thermally phase-transformed In2Se3 nanowires for highly sensitive photodetectors.

The photoresponse characteristics of In2Se3 nanowire photodetectors with the κ-phase and α-phase structures are investigated. The as-grown κ-phase In2Se3 nanowires by the vapor-liquid-solid technique are phase-transformed to the α-phase nanowires by thermal annealing. The photoresponse performances of the κ-phase and α-phase In2Se3 nanowire photodetectors are characterized over a wide range of wavelengths (300-900 nm). The phase of the nanowires is analyzed using a high-resolution transmission microscopy equipped with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The electrical conductivity and photoresponse characteristics are significantly enhanced in the α-phase due to smaller bandgap structure compared to the κ-phase nanowires. The spectral responsivities of the α-phase devices are 200 times larger than those of the κ-phase devices. The superior performance of the thermally phase-transformed In2Se3 nanowire devices offers an avenue to develop highly sensitive photodetector applications.

Silicon nanowire biologically sensitive field effect transistors: electrical characteristics and applications.

The interest in biologically sensitive field effect transistors (BioFETs) is growing explosively due to their potential as biosensors in biomedical, environmental monitoring and security applications. Recently, adoption of silicon nanowires in BioFETs has enabled enhancement of sensitivity, device miniaturization, decreasing power consumption and emerging applications such as the 3D cell probe. In this review, we describe the device physics and operation of the silicon nanowire BioFETs along with recent advances in the field. The silicon nanowire BioFETs are basically the same as the conventional field-effect transistors (FETs) with the exceptions of nanowire channel instead of thin film and a liquid gate instead of the conventional gate. Therefore, the silicon device physics is important to understand the operation of the BioFETs. Herein, physical characteristics of the silicon nanowire FETs are described and the operational principles of the BioFETs are classified according to the number of gates and the analysis domain of the measured signal. Even the bottom-up process has merits on low-cost fabrication; the top-down process technique is highlighted here due to its reliability and reproducibility. Finally, recent advances in the silicon nanowire BioFETs in the literature are described and key features for commercialization are discussed.

Silicon nanowire ion sensitive field effect transistor with integrated Ag/AgCl electrode: pH sensing and noise characteristics.

We have fabricated Si nanowire (SiNW) based ion-sensitive field effect transistors (ISFETs) for biosensing applications. The ability to prepare a large number of sensors on a wafer, the use of standard silicon microfabrication techniques resulting in cost savings, and potential high sensitivity are significant advantages in favor of nanoscale SiNW ISFETs. The SiNW ISFETs with embedded Ag/AgCl reference electrode were fabricated on a standard silicon-on-insulator wafer using electron-beam lithography and conventional semiconductor processing technology. The current-voltage characteristics show an n-type FET behavior with a relatively high on/off current ratio, reasonable sub-threshold swing value, and low gate-leakage current. The pH responses of the ISFETs with different pH solutions were characterized at room temperature which showed a clear lateral shift of the drain current vs. gate voltage curve with a change in the pH value of the solution and a sensitivity of 40 mV pH(-1). The low frequency noise characteristics were investigated to evaluate the signal to noise ratio and sensing limit of the devices.