Fully Integrated CMOS Microsystem for Electrochemical Measurements on 32 × 32 Working Electrodes at 90 Frames Per Second

Microelectrode arrays offer the potential to electrochemically monitor concentrations of molecules at high spatial resolution. However, current systems are limited in the number of sensor sites, signal resolution, and throughput. Here, we present a fully integrated complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) system with an array of 32 × 32 working electrodes to perform electrochemical measurements like amperometry and voltammetry. The array consists of platinum electrodes with a center-to-center distance of 100 μm and electrode diameters of 5 to 50 μm. Currents in the range from 10 μA down to pA can be measured. The current is digitized by sigma-delta converters at a maximum resolution of 13.3 bits. The integrated noise is 220 fA for a bandwidth of 100 Hz, allowing for detection of pA currents. Currents can be continuously acquired at up to 1 kHz bandwidth, or the whole array can be read out rapidly at a frame rate of up to 90 Hz. The results of the electrical characterization meet the requirements of a wide range of electrochemical methods including cyclic voltammograms and amperometric images of high spatial and temporal resolution

Fully Integrated CMOS Microsystem for Electrochemical Measurements on 32 × 32 Working Electrodes at 90 Frames Per Second

Microelectrode arrays offer the potential to electrochemically monitor concentrations of molecules at high spatial resolution. However, current systems are limited in the number of sensor sites, signal resolution, and throughput. Here, we present a fully integrated complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) system with an array of 32 × 32 working electrodes to perform electrochemical measurements like amperometry and voltammetry. The array consists of platinum electrodes with a center-to-center distance of 100 μm and electrode diameters of 5 to 50 μm. Currents in the range from 10 μA down to pA can be measured. The current is digitized by sigma-delta converters at a maximum resolution of 13.3 bits. The integrated noise is 220 fA for a bandwidth of 100 Hz, allowing for detection of pA currents. Currents can be continuously acquired at up to 1 kHz bandwidth, or the whole array can be read out rapidly at a frame rate of up to 90 Hz. The results of the electrical characterization meet the requirements of a wide range of electrochemical methods including cyclic voltammograms and amperometric images of high spatial and temporal resolution

Monolithic Integration of a Silicon Nanowire Field-Effect Transistors Array on a Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor Chip for Biochemical Sensor Applications

We present a monolithic complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-based sensor system comprising an array of silicon nanowire field-effect transistors (FETs) and the signal-conditioning circuitry on the same chip. The silicon nanowires were fabricated by chemical vapor deposition methods and then transferred to the CMOS chip, where Ti/Pd/Ti contacts had been patterned via e-beam lithography. The on-chip circuitry measures the current flowing through each nanowire FET upon applying a constant source-drain voltage. The analog signal is digitized on chip and then transmitted to a receiving unit. The system has been successfully fabricated and tested by acquiring <i>I</i>–<i>V</i> curves of the bare nanowire-based FETs. Furthermore, the sensing capabilities of the complete system have been demonstrated by recording current changes upon nanowire exposure to solutions of different pHs, as well as by detecting different concentrations of Troponin T biomarkers (cTnT) through antibody-functionalized nanowire FETs