ISFET

An ion-sensitive field-effect transistor (ISFET) is a field-effect transistor used for measuring ion concentrations in solution; when the ion concentration (such as H+, see pH scale) changes, the current through the transistor will change accordingly. Here, the solution is used as the gate electrode. A voltage between substrate and oxide surfaces arises due to an ion sheath. It is a special type of MOSFET (metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor),[1] and shares the same basic structure, but with the metal gate replaced by an ion-sensitive membrane, electrolyte solution and reference electrode.[2] Invented in 1970, the ISFET was the first biosensor FET (BioFET).

The schematic view of an ISFET. Source and drain are the two electrodes used in a FET system. The electron flow takes place in a channel between the drain and source. The gate potential controls the flow of current between the two electrodes.

The surface hydrolysis of Si–OH groups of the gate materials varies in aqueous solutions due to pH value. Typical gate materials are SiO2, Si3N4, Al2O3 and Ta2O5.

The mechanism responsible for the oxide surface charge can be described by the site binding model, which describes the equilibrium between the Si–OH surface sites and the H+ ions in the solution. The hydroxyl groups coating an oxide surface such as that of SiO2 can donate or accept a proton and thus behave in an amphoteric way as illustrated by the following acid-base reactions occurring at the oxide-electrolyte interface:

—Si–OH + H2O  ↔  —Si–O− \+ H3O+

—Si–OH + H3O+ ↔  —Si–OH2+ \+ H2O

An ISFET's source and drain are constructed as for a MOSFET. The gate electrode is separated from the channel by a barrier which is sensitive to hydrogen ions and a gap to allow the substance under test to come in contact with the sensitive barrier. An ISFET's threshold voltage depends on the pH of the substance in contact with its ion-sensitive barrier.

## Contents

* 1 Practical limitations due to the reference electrode
* 2 Low-frequency noise of ISFET
* 3 Drift of ISFET
* 4 History
* 5 See also
* 6 References
* 7 Bibliography
* 8 Further reading

## Practical limitations due to the reference electrode

An ISFET electrode sensitive to H+ concentration can be used as a conventional glass electrode to measure the pH of a solution. However, it also requires a reference electrode to operate. If the reference electrode used in contact with the solution is of the AgCl or Hg2Cl2 classical type, it will suffer the same limitations as conventional pH electrodes (junction potential, KCl leak, and glycerol leak in case of gel electrode). A conventional reference electrode can also be bulky and fragile. A too large volume constrained by a classical reference electrode also precludes the miniaturization of the ISFET electrode, a mandatory feature for some biological or in vivo clinical analyses (disposable mini-catheter pH probe). The breakdown of a conventional reference electrode could also make problem in on-line measurements in the pharmaceutical or food industry if highly valuable products are contaminated by electrode debris or toxic chemical compounds at a late production stage and must be discarded for the sake of safety.

For this reason, since more than 20 years many research efforts have been dedicated to on-chip embedded tiny reference field effect transistors (REFET). Their functioning principle, or operating mode, can vary, depending on the electrode producers and are often proprietary and protected by patents. Semi-conductor modified surfaces required for REFET are also not always in thermodynamical equilibrium with the test solution and can be sensitive to aggressive or interfering dissolved species or not well characterized aging phenomena. This is not a real problem if the electrode can be frequently re-calibrated at regular time interval and is easily maintained during its service life. However, this may be an issue if the electrode has to remain immersed on-line for prolonged period of time, or is inaccessible for particular constrains related to the nature of the measurements itself (geochemical measurements under elevated water pressure in harsh environments or under anoxic or reducing conditions easily disturbed by atmospheric oxygen ingress or pressure changes).

A crucial factor for ISFET electrodes, as for conventional glass electrodes, remains thus the reference electrode. When troubleshooting electrode malfunctions, often, most of the problems have to be searched for from the side of the reference electrode.

## Low-frequency noise of ISFET

For ISFET-based sensors, low-frequency noise is most detrimental to the overall SNR as it can interfere with biomedical signals which span in the same frequency domain.[3] The noise has mainly three sources. The noise sources outside the ISFET itself are referred to as the external noise, such as environmental interference and instrument noise from terminal read-out circuits. The intrinsic noise refers to that appearing in the solid part of an ISFET, which is mainly caused by the trapping and de-trapping of carriers at the Oxide/Si interface. And the extrinsic noise is generally rooted in the liquid/oxide interface causing by the ion exchange at the liquid/oxide interface. Many methods are invented to suppress the noise of ISFET. For example, to suppress the external noise, we can integrate a bipolar junction transistor with ISFET to realize immediate the internal amplification of drain current.[4] And to suppress the intrinsic noise we can replace the noisy oxide/Si interface by a Schottky junction gate.[5]

## Drift of ISFET

Drift of ISFET refers to the threshold voltage instability. When the intrinsic response of the pH-ISFET is completed, the output voltage of the ISFET still vary with time gradually and monotonically, and this drift behavior exists during the entire measurement process. It has been one of the serious obstacles in developing commercially viable, ISFET-based biomedical sensors. In particular, the high accuracy desired for continuous monitoring of blood pH imposes stringent requirements on the tolerable drift rate in pH ISFETs.[6]

Proposed explanations for drift include electric field enhanced ion migration within the gate insulator as well as electrochemical nonequilibrium conditions at the insulator solution interface, injection of electrons from the electrolyte at strong anodic polarizations, creating negative space charge inside the insulator films, and slow surface effects.[7]

## History

The basis for the ISFET is the MOSFET. Dutch engineer Piet Bergveld, at the University of Twente studied the MOSFET and realized it could be adapted into a sensor for electrochemical and biological applications.[8][1] This led to Bergveld's invention of the ISFET in 1970.[9][8] He described the ISFET as "a special type of MOSFET with a gate at a certain distance".[1] It was the earliest biosensor FET (BioFET).[10]

ISFET sensors could be implemented in integrated circuits based on CMOS (complementary MOS) technology. ISFET devices are widely used in biomedical applications, such as the detection of DNA hybridization, biomarker detection from blood, antibody detection, glucose measurement and pH sensing.[2] The ISFET is also the basis for later BioFETs, such as the DNA field-effect transistor (DNAFET),[2][9] used in genetic technology.[2]

Recently, Graphene field effect transistors (GFETs) operating in liquids have emerged as a promising embodiments of ISFETs. This is because graphene channels offer a more sensitive charge-to-current transducer compared to conventional devices based on classical semiconducting channels. Additionally, the graphene surface is more convenient to functionalize compared to silicon, leading to a wide range of developments in bioFETs. [11]

## See also

* Chemical field-effect transistor
* Ion-selective electrodes
* MISFET: metal–insulator–semiconductor field-effect transistor
* MOSFET: metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor
* pH
* pH meter
* Potentiometry
* Quinhydrone electrode
* Saturated calomel electrode
* Silver chloride electrode
* Standard hydrogen electrode

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Bergveld, Piet (October 1985). "The impact of MOSFET-based sensors". Sensors and Actuators 8 (2): 109–127. doi:10.1016/0250-6874(85)87009-8. ISSN 0250-6874. Bibcode: 1985SeAc....8..109B. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/11473091.pdf.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Schöning, Michael J.; Poghossian, Arshak (10 September 2002). "Recent advances in biologically sensitive field-effect transistors (BioFETs)". Analyst 127 (9): 1137–1151. doi:10.1039/B204444G. ISSN 1364-5528. PMID 12375833. Bibcode: 2002Ana...127.1137S. http://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/16078/files/12968.pdf.
3. ↑ Bedner, Kristine; Guzenko, Vitaliy A.; Tarasov, Alexey; Wipf, Mathias; Stoop, Ralph L.; Rigante, Sara; Brunner, Jan; Fu, Wangyang et al. (February 2014). "Investigation of the dominant 1/f noise source in silicon nanowire sensors". Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical 191: 270–275. doi:10.1016/j.snb.2013.09.112. ISSN 0925-4005. Bibcode: 2014SeAcB.191..270B. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.snb.2013.09.112.
4. ↑ Zhang, Da; Gao, Xindong; Chen, Si; Norström, Hans; Smith, Ulf; Solomon, Paul; Zhang, Shi-Li; Zhang, Zhen (2014-08-25). "An ion-gated bipolar amplifier for ion sensing with enhanced signal and improved noise performance". Applied Physics Letters 105 (8): 082102. doi:10.1063/1.4894240. ISSN 0003-6951. Bibcode: 2014ApPhL.105h2102Z. http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4894240.
5. ↑ Chen, Xi; Chen, Si; Hu, Qitao; Zhang, Shi-Li; Solomon, Paul; Zhang, Zhen (2019-02-22). "Device Noise Reduction for Silicon Nanowire Field-Effect-Transistor Based Sensors by Using a Schottky Junction Gate" (in en). ACS Sensors 4 (2): 427–433. doi:10.1021/acssensors.8b01394. ISSN 2379-3694. PMID 30632733. Bibcode: 2019ACSSe...4..427C. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acssensors.8b01394.
6. ↑ Chou, Jung chuan (2022). "Preparation and study on the drift and hysteresis properties of the tin oxide gate ISFET by the sol–gel method". Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical 86 (1): 58-62. doi:10.1016/S0925-4005(02)00147-8.
7. ↑ Jamasb, S.; Collins, S.D.; Smith, R.L. (1997). "A physically-based model for drift in Al2O3-gate pH ISFET's". Proceedings of International Solid State Sensors and Actuators Conference (Transducers '97). 2. pp. 1379–1382. doi:10.1109/SENSOR.1997.635494. ISBN 0-7803-3829-4.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Bergveld, P. (January 1970). "Development of an Ion-Sensitive Solid-State Device for Neurophysiological Measurements". IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering BME-17 (1): 70–71. doi:10.1109/TBME.1970.4502688. PMID 5441220. Bibcode: 1970ITBE...17...70B.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Chris Toumazou; Pantelis Georgiou (December 2011). "40 years of ISFET technology: From neuronal sensing to DNA sequencing". Electronics Letters 47: S7. doi:10.1049/el.2011.3231. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260616066. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
10. ↑ Park, Jeho; Nguyen, Hoang Hiep; Woubit, Abdela; Kim, Moonil (2014). "Applications of Field-Effect Transistor (FET)–Type Biosensors". Applied Science and Convergence Technology 23 (2): 61–71. doi:10.5757/ASCT.2014.23.2.61. ISSN 2288-6559.
11. ↑ Beraud, A. (2021). "Graphene field-effect transistors as bioanalytical sensors: design, operation and performance". Analyst 146 (2): 403–428. doi:10.1039/D0AN01661F. PMID 33215184. Bibcode: 2021Ana...146..403B.

## Bibliography

* Bergveld, P. (2003). "Thirty years of ISFETOLOGY, What happened in the past 30 years and what may happen in the next 30 years". Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical 88 (1): 1–20. doi:10.1016/S0925-4005(02)00301-5. Bibcode: 2003SeAcB..88....1B. https://research.utwente.nl/en/publications/thirty-years-of-isfetology--what-happened-in-the-past-30-years-and-what-may-happen-in-the-next-30-years(1870bd9a-8f36-4dde-b0c7-e0f06542fe47).html.

* Bergveld, P. (2003). "ISFET, theory and practice". IEEE Sensor Conference, October 2003. Toronto: IEEE. pp. 26. http://ieee-sensors.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/ISFET-Bergveld.pdf.
* ISFET pH Sensors

## Further reading

* Rothberg, Johnathan M (2011). "An integrated semiconductor device enabling non-optical genome sequencing". Nature 475 (7356): 348–52. doi:10.1038/nature10242. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 21776081.
* Bergveld, P. (1985). "The impact of MOSFET-based sensors". Sensors and Actuators 8 (2): 109–127. doi:10.1016/0250-6874(85)87009-8. ISSN 0250-6874. Bibcode: 1985SeAc....8..109B. https://research.utwente.nl/en/publications/the-impact-of-mosfetbased-sensors(23b4c4db-1263-4223-9aa7-dc53225dcd95).html.
* Bergveld, P. (1986). "The development and application of FET-based biosensors". Biosensors 2 (1): 15–33. doi:10.1016/0265-928X(86)85010-6. ISSN 0265-928X. PMID 3790175. https://research.utwente.nl/en/publications/the-development-and-application-of-fetbased-biosensors(db7e03f2-aeab-47ee-9b35-c390a1c51dc2).html.
* Bergveld, P. (1991). "A critical evaluation of direct electrical protein detection methods". Biosensors and Bioelectronics 6 (1): 55–72. doi:10.1016/0956-5663(91)85009-L. ISSN 0956-5663. PMID 2049171. https://research.utwente.nl/en/publications/a-critical-evaluation-of-direct-electrical-protein-detection-methods(668a0490-5fec-45f4-81d5-99d991f859de).html.
* Bergveld, P. (2003). "Thirty years of ISFETOLOGY: What happened in the past 30 years and what may happen in the next 30 years". Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical 88 (1): 1–20. doi:10.1016/S0925-4005(02)00301-5. ISSN 0925-4005. Bibcode: 2003SeAcB..88....1B. https://research.utwente.nl/en/publications/thirty-years-of-isfetology--what-happened-in-the-past-30-years-and-what-may-happen-in-the-next-30-years(1870bd9a-8f36-4dde-b0c7-e0f06542fe47).html.
* Bergveld, P. (2003). "ISFET, theory and practice". IEEE Sensor Conference Toronto, October 2003. Toronto: IEEE. pp. 26 pp. http://www.ewh.ieee.org/tc/sensors/Tutorials/ISFET-Bergveld.pdf.
* Bergveld, P; A Van den Berg; PD Van der Wal; M Skowronska-Ptasinska; EJR Sudhölter; DN Reinhoudt (1989). "How electrical and chemical requirements for REFETs may coincide". Sensors and Actuators 18 (3–4): 309–327. doi:10.1016/0250-6874(89)87038-6. ISSN 0250-6874. https://research.utwente.nl/en/publications/how-electrical-and-chemical-requirements-for-refets-may-coincide(fe2bee67-5611-4153-8341-a04f9b21cc26).html.
* Chudy, M; W Wróblewski; Z Brzózka (1999). "Towards REFET". Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical 57 (1–3): 47–50. doi:10.1016/S0925-4005(99)00134-3. ISSN 0925-4005. Bibcode: 1999SeAcB..57...47C.
* Chudy, Michal; Wojciech Wróblewski; Zbigniew Brzózka (1999). "Towards REFET". Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical 57 (1–3): 47–50. doi:10.1016/S0925-4005(99)00134-3. ISSN 0925-4005. Bibcode: 1999SeAcB..57...47C.
* Collins, S.D. (1993). "Practical limits for solid-state reference electrodes". Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical 10 (3): 169–178. doi:10.1016/0925-4005(93)87002-7. ISSN 0925-4005. Bibcode: 1993SeAcB..10..169C.
* Duroux, P; C Emde; P Bauerfeind; C Francis; A Grisel; L Thybaud; D Armstrong; C Depeursinge et al. (1991). "The ion sensitive field effect transistor (ISFET) pH electrode: a new sensor for long term ambulatory pH monitoring.". Gut 32 (3): 240–245. doi:10.1136/gut.32.3.240. ISSN 0017-5749. PMID 2013417.
* Errachid, A.; J. Bausells; N. Jaffrezic-Renault (1999). "A simple REFET for pH detection in differential mode". Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical 60 (1): 43–48. doi:10.1016/S0925-4005(99)00242-7. ISSN 0925-4005. Bibcode: 1999SeAcB..60...43E.
* Ghallab, Y.H.; W. Badawy; K.V.I.S. Kaler. "A novel pH sensor using differential ISFET current mode read-out circuit". International Conference on MEMS, NANO and Smart Systems. Banff, Alta., Canada. pp. 255–258. doi:10.1109/ICMENS.2003.1222002.
* Guth, U; F Gerlach; M Decker; W Oelßner; W Vonau (2009). "Solid-state reference electrodes for potentiometric sensors". Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry 13 (1): 27–39. doi:10.1007/s10008-008-0574-7. ISSN 1432-8488.
* Huang, I-Yu. Chemical sensors research group. http://csrg.ch.pw.edu.pl/tutorials/isfet/. Retrieved 2010-11-01.
* Huang, I-Yu; Ruey-Shing Huang; Lieh-Hsi Lo (2002). "A new structured ISFET with integrated Ti/Pd/Ag/AgCl Electrode and micromachined back-side P+ contacts". Journal of the Chinese Institute of Engineers 25 (3): 327–334. doi:10.1080/02533839.2002.9670707. http://140.118.16.82/www/index.php/JCIE/article/viewFile/1681/897. Retrieved 2010-11-01.
* Kal, S.; Bhanu, P. V. (2007). "Design and modeling of ISFET for pH sensing". TENCON 2007 - 2007 IEEE Region 10 Conference. Taipei. pp. 1–4. doi:10.1109/TENCON.2007.4428805. ISBN 978-1-4244-1272-3.
* Kisiel, Anna; Agata Michalska; Krzysztof Maksymiuk (September 2007). "Plastic reference electrodes and plastic potentiometric cells with dispersion cast poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) and poly(vinyl chloride) based membranes". Bioelectrochemistry 71 (1): 75–80. doi:10.1016/j.bioelechem.2006.09.006. ISSN 1567-5394. PMID 17107827.
* Lee, YC; BK Sohn (2002). "Development of an FET-type reference electrode for pH detection". Journal of the Korean Physical Society 40 (4): 601–604. doi:10.3938/jkps.40.601. ISSN 0374-4884. Bibcode: 2002JKPS...40..601Y.
* Lisdat, F.; W. Moritz (August 1993). "A reference element based on a solid-state structure". Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical 15 (1–3): 228–232. doi:10.1016/0925-4005(93)85057-H. ISSN 0925-4005. Bibcode: 1993SeAcB..15..228L.
* Skowronska-Ptasinska, M; PD Van Der Wal; A Van Den Berg; P Bergveld; EJR Sudhölter; DN Reinhoudt (1990). "Reference field effect transistors based on chemically modified ISFETs". Analytica Chimica Acta 230: 67–73. doi:10.1016/s0003-2670(00)82762-2. ISSN 0003-2670. Bibcode: 1990AcAC..230...67S. https://research.utwente.nl/en/publications/reference-field-effect-transistor-based-on-chemically-modified-isfets(f53e926c-956d-4866-8422-f30a45cb2804).html.
* Suzuki, Hiroaki; Taishi Hirakawa; Satoshi Sasaki; Isao Karube (1998-02-15). "Micromachined liquid-junction Ag/AgCl reference electrode". Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical 46 (2): 146–154. doi:10.1016/S0925-4005(98)00110-5. ISSN 0925-4005. Bibcode: 1998SeAcB..46..146S.
* van den Berg, A.; A. Grisel; H.H. van den Vlekkert; N.F. de Rooij (January 1990). "A micro-volume open liquid-junction reference electrode for pH-ISFETs". Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical 1 (1–6): 425–432. doi:10.1016/0925-4005(90)80243-S. ISSN 0925-4005. Bibcode: 1990SeAcB...1..425V. http://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/137473.
* Vonau, W.; W. Oelßner; U. Guth; J. Henze (2010-02-17). "An all-solid-state reference electrode". Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical 144 (2): 368–373. doi:10.1016/j.snb.2008.12.001. ISSN 0925-4005. Bibcode: 2010SeAcB.144..368V.

* v
* t
* e

Electronic components

Semiconductor
devices|

| MOS transistors|

* BiCMOS
* BioFET
* Chemical field-effect transistor (ChemFET)
* Complementary MOS (CMOS)
* Depletion-load NMOS
* Fin field-effect transistor (FinFET)
* Floating-gate MOSFET (FGMOS)
* Insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT)
* ISFET
* LDMOS
* MOS field-effect transistor (MOSFET)
* Multi-gate field-effect transistor (MuGFET)
* NMOS
* PMOS
* Power MOSFET
* Thin-film transistor (TFT)
* VMOS

|

Other transistors|

* Bipolar junction transistor (BJT)
* Darlington transistor
* Diffusion transistor
* Field-effect transistor (FET)
* JFET
* Light-emitting transistor (LET)
* Organic field-effect transistor (OFET)
* Organic light-emitting transistor (OLET)
* Pentode transistor
* Point-contact transistor
* Programmable unijunction transistor (PUT)
* Static induction transistor (SIT)
* Tetrode transistor
* Unijunction transistor (UJT)

Diodes|

* Avalanche diode
* Constant-current diode (CLD, CRD)
* Laser diode (LD)
* Light-emitting diode (LED)
* Organic light-emitting diode (OLED)
* Photodiode
* PIN diode
* Schottky diode
* Step recovery diode
* Zener diode

Other devices|

* DIAC
* Heterostructure barrier varactor
* Integrated circuit (IC)
* Memistor
* Memory cell
* Memristor
* Organic semiconductor
* Photodetector
* Solaristor
* Quantum circuit
* Silicon controlled rectifier (SCR)
* Static induction thyristor (SITh)
* Three-dimensional integrated circuit (3D IC)
* Thyristor
* TRIAC
* Varicap

Voltage regulators|

* Linear regulator
* Low-dropout regulator
* Switching regulator
* Buck
* Boost
* Buck–boost
* Split-pi
* Ćuk
* SEPIC
* Charge pump
* Switched capacitor

Vacuum tubes|

* Acorn tube
* Audion
* Beam tetrode
* Barretter
* Compactron
* Diode
* Fleming valve
* Nonode
* Nuvistor
* Pentagrid (Hexode, Heptode, Octode)
* Pentode
* Photomultiplier
* Phototube
* Tetrode
* Triode

Vacuum tubes (RF)|

* Backward-wave oscillator (BWO)
* Cavity magnetron
* Crossed-field amplifier (CFA)
* Gyrotron
* Inductive output tube (IOT)
* Klystron
* Maser
* Sutton tube
* Traveling-wave tube (TWT)

Cathode ray tubes|

* Beam deflection tube
* Charactron
* Iconoscope
* Magic eye tube
* Monoscope
* Selectron tube
* Storage tube
* Trochotron
* Video camera tube
* Williams tube

Gas-filled tubes|

* Cold cathode
* Crossatron
* Dekatron
* Ignitron
* Krytron
* Mercury-arc valve
* Neon lamp
* Nixie tube
* Thyratron
* Trigatron
* Voltage-regulator tube

Adjustable|

* Potentiometer
* digital
* Variable capacitor
* Varicap

Passive|

* Connector
* audio and video
* electrical power
* RF
* Electrolytic detector
* Ferrite
* Fuse
* resettable
* Resistor
* Switch
* Thermistor
* Transformer
* Varistor
* Wire
* Wollaston wire

Reactive|

* Capacitor
* types
* Ceramic resonator
* Crystal oscillator
* Inductor
* Parametron
* Relay
* reed relay
* mercury switch

0.00

(0 votes)

Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISFET. Read more

|

Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Biology:ISFET&oldid=4341579"
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template