TELKOMNIKA (Telecommunication Computing Electronics and Control)
Vol 22, No 5: October 2024

Study of ISFET sensitivity to pH variations using Silvaco TCAD

Nur Afiqah Hani Senin (Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka)
Anis Suhaila Mohd Zain (Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka)
Fauziyah Salehuddin (Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka)
Hazura Haroon (Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka)
Ahmed Musa Dinar (University of Technology–Iraq)
Norwahidah Abdul Karim (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia)



Article Info

Publish Date
26 May 2024

Abstract

Chemical sensors are increasingly used in healthcare because of their small size, durability, low resistance, and quick reaction time. This research aims to develop a pH biosensor utilizing an ion-sensitive field-effect transistor (ISFET) simulated with Silvaco technology computer-aided design (TCAD) software. The pH range of operation for the ISFET is 2 to 12. Sensitivity was evaluated based on the critical pH value and threshold voltage (Vth) parameters across different gate channel lengths (250 nm, 200 nm, and 50 nm) and sensing membrane thicknesses (3 nm, 10 nm, and 20 nm). The sensitivity of different materials to pH levels was measured. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) had the highest sensitivity at 57.98 mV/pH, followed by hafnium (IV) oxide (HfO2) at 57.46 mV/pH, tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5) at 57.36 mV/pH, aluminium oxide (Al2O3) at 55.05 mV/pH, and silicon nitride (Si3N4) at 54.75 mV/pH. Notably, TiO2 with a 200 nm gate channel length and a 3 nm sensing membrane thickness demonstrated the highest sensitivity. These findings highlight the potential of ISFETs, particularly those with TiO2 sensing membranes, as robust and precise pH monitoring platforms in the biomedical industry.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

TELKOMNIKA

Publisher

Subject

Computer Science & IT

Description

Submitted papers are evaluated by anonymous referees by single blind peer review for contribution, originality, relevance, and presentation. The Editor shall inform you of the results of the review as soon as possible, hopefully in 10 weeks. Please notice that because of the great number of ...