To appear in IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, 2015.

Available in IEEEXplore at
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?arnumber=7154467

Charge Modulated Underlap I-MOS Transistor

as a Label-free Biosensor:
A Simulation Study
N. Kannan, and Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar, Senior Member, IEEE

Abstract The possibility of fast label-free detection of

biomolecules using electronic devices has resulted in an increased
focus on developing such biosensing devices and optimizing their
structure for enhanced performance. One of the main factors
that determine a biosensors performance is its sensitivity. A high
sensitivity in detecting biomolecules is achieved with FET based
biosensors by biasing the device in the subthreshold regime.
Recent works have shown the possibility of significantly
increased sensitivity in detecting biomolecules by using emerging
steep subthreshold slope FETs as label-free biosensors. A lower
subthreshold swing (SS), achievable with steep subthreshold
slope devices, also results in a faster response time for the
biosensor. The Impact-ionization MOS (I-MOS) transistor can
achieve very steep subthreshold slopes as it is turned-ON
abruptly due to the impact ionization phenomenon. In this paper,
we propose an Underlap Impact-ionization MOS (UI-MOS)
transistor sensor for label-free detection of charged biomolecules.
The UI-MOS is a three terminal device with an underlap in the
middle of the gate electrode serving as the location for
immobilization by biomolecules. The gate electrode of the UIMOS offers the advantage of individual addressability of
biosensors in a sensor array. The compatibility of the UI-MOS
with the CMOS process enables monolithic integration with the
measurement circuitry. Using TCAD simulation we demonstrate
that a biosensor based on the UI-MOS is highly sensitive to the
presence of charged biomolecules. The UI-MOS, when operating
in the linear regime, also experiences a large threshold voltage
(VT) shift due to the presence of biomolecules. The performance
of UI-MOS is found to be less sensitive to gate oxide thickness
variations and shows high sensitivity for a range of gate and
underlap lengths. The very high sensitivity of the UI-MOS
biosensor and its compatibility with existing CMOS processes
makes it an exciting alternative to conventional FET based
biosensors.
Index TermsBiomolecule, charge, field effect transistors,
gate underlap, impact ionization, impact ionization MOS (IMOS), sensor, sensitivity.

I. INTRODUCTION

on-sensitive field-effect transistors (ISFETs) paved the way

for the application of FET based devices as biosensors for
label-free detection of charged biomolecules [1]. Since then,
the use of FET based biosensors continues to be a very active
This work was supported in part by NXP (Philips) Chair Professorship
awarded to M.J. Kumar. The authors are from the Department of Electrical
Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi
110016, India.
Email: n.kannan@outlook.com; mamidala@ee.iitd.ac.in

Fig. 1. Cross sectional view of (a) the conventional I-MOS and (b) the UIMOS.

area of research [2]-[10]. Existing FET based biosensors

predominantly use the VT shift caused by the presence of the
target biomolecules as a sensing parameter [2]-[8].
Increasingly, nanowire based sensors use change in device
current as a sensing parameter [9], [10]. One of the main
parameter determining a biosensors performance is its
sensitivity in detecting biomolecular immobilization [9]. Due
to the exponential current vs. gate voltage relationship in the
subthreshold regime of a field-effect transistor, a higher
sensitivity is achieved when a FET based biosensor is biased
in the subthreshold regime [11]. Biosensors based on steep
subthreshold slope devices have been recently proposed with
significantly increased sensitivities compared to conventional
FET biosensors [4], [9]-[10]. The increased sensitivity arises
because of their ability to overcome the Boltzmann limit on
subthreshold slope for conventional FET biosensors [9]. Also,
the response time of steep subthreshold slope biosensors is
significantly reduced [9]-[10]. This is because the response
time is directly proportional to the subthreshold swing (SS) [9]
and a lower SS is achieved with the use of steep subthreshold
slope transistors.
The impact-ionization FET (IFET) reported in [10] is the
first reported I-MOS based biosensor and is followed by
another study on dielectric-modulated I-MOS biosensor
reported in [4]. The I-MOS transistor is a gated p-i-n diode,
with the channel inversion charge modulated by the gate
voltage and resulting in the drain-source voltage to appear
across the intrinsic region outside the gate region [12]. The
electric field in the intrinsic region causes impact-ionization at
a critical field value, leading to an abrupt turning-ON of the IMOS transistor [12]. Subthreshold swing as low as 2-10
mV/dec have been achieved with the I-MOS transistor [13].

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The sharp turn-ON characteristics of the I-MOS FET
biosensors due to the impact-ionization induced turn-ON can
lead to high sensitivity in detecting biomolecules.
Although, the initial development in the field of FET
based biosensors involved two terminal devices [14], a large
number of three terminal devices have been subsequently
developed and continue to be an active area of research [2][8]. The three terminal biosensors have similar structure and
electrical characteristics as the conventional FET devices [15],
leading to easier monolithic integration with a readout circuit
and batch fabrication at a low cost [2]. The ability to
individually control each sensor device in a sensor array using
the gate electrode [2], [7]-[8] is an advantage over two
terminal devices and critical for sensor array processing [2].
Three terminal biosensor devices have been successfully
integrated in point of care testing systems due to the these
advantages [2]-[3], [5]-[8].
In this paper, we propose the use of an underlap impactionization MOS (UI-MOS) transistor, a three terminal steep
subthreshold slope device, as a biosensor for the detection of
charged biomolecules. We modify the gate electrode of the IMOS to create an underlap region in its middle resulting in the
UI-MOS transistor. The underlap region serves as a location
for immobilizing the charged biomolecules. The planar I-MOS
transistor is fully compatible with the conventional CMOS
process [13]. The UI-MOS biosensors structure is similar to
that of the planar I-MOS transistor and consequently also
compatible with the CMOS process. Due to the presence of
the gate electrode, the UI-MOS based sensor devices can be
monolithically integrated with readout circuits and batchfabrication at low cost can be achieved.
Using TCAD simulations [16], we examine the performance
of the UI-MOS as a label-free biosensor and demonstrate it to
be a highly sensitive device with potential applications in
biomedical field. When the device is biased in the
subthreshold regime, the charge modulation due to the
immobilized biomolecules causes a steep increase in the drain
current (ID). When the UI-MOS is operated in the linear
regime, a significant shift is also observed in the gate voltage
(VG) required for attaining a reference drain current (I D,Ref),
chosen to be 100 A in our study. Thus, the UI-MOS offers
the ability to use either the steep change in ID in the
subthreshold regime or change in VG in the linear regime as a
sensing parameter for detecting the presence of charged
biomolecules. Using change in ID as the sensing parameter is
advantageous when a high sensitivity and fast response time is
desired from the biosensor. By using the change in VG
required for attaining ID,Ref in the linear regime it is possible to
achieve a better signal-to-noise ratio.
II. DEVICE STRUCTURE AND BIOSENSING ACTION
The cross-sectional view of the conventional p-channel IMOS and the proposed p-channel UI-MOS are shown in Fig.
1(a) and Fig. 1(b), respectively. The introduction of an
underlap in the middle of the gate structure has been shown to
be a self-aligned gate-first process [2]. The gate-first process
reduces variations in the underlap length as it eliminates the

Fig. 2. Reproduction of the simulated ID vs. VG plot of a conventional Pchannel I-MOS transistor in Fig. 2 of [18] for calibrating the TCAD setup
used for analysis of the UI-MOS transistor. The device is simulated at VS
= 7.8 V and VD = 0 V.

need for a gate alignment step needed in a gate-last process

[2], [5]. Thus the UI-MOS underlap structure has an advantage
over other reported underlap structures [5] in terms of device
fabrication complexity as well in achieving precise control of
the underlap length.
When the UI-MOS biosensor is exposed to biomolecular
receptors, corresponding to the analyte biomolecule to be
detected, they get attached in the underlap region. These
receptors subsequently act as locations for immobilization by
analyte biomolecules present in the electrolyte solution to
which the UI-MOS is exposed. The charges on the
immobilized biomolecules induce carriers in the channel
below the underlap region and change the drain current I D
from ID0 (before the attachment of biomolecules) to IDbio (after
the attachment of biomolecules). The change in gate voltage
VG required for attaining ID,Ref is VG = VGbio-VG0, where VG0
and VGbio are the gate voltages before and after the attachment
of biomolecules, respectively. We define the sensitivity of the
UI-MOS due to change in ID as Scurrent = (IDbioID0)/ID0. We can
use either Scurrent or VG as sensing parameters for label-free
detection of biomolecules.
The device parameters used in our simulation are: silicon
film thickness (TSi) = 100 nm, silicon film doping = 210 15
cm-3, buried oxide thickness (T BOX) = 300 nm, gate-oxide
thickness (TOX) = 10 nm, channel length (L) = 150 nm, gate
length (LG) = 90 nm, underlap length (LU) = 63 nm, length of
the intrinsic region (LIN) = 60 nm, channel width = 1 m, gate
work function = 4.6 eV and the source doping (N D) and drain
doping (NA) = 1020 cm-3. The source and drain regions are 50
nm long. The electrolyte ion concentration is taken to be 1
mMol per litre in order to account for the electrostatic
screening effect of ions in the solution [17].
III. SIMULATION SETUP
We have calibrated our TCAD simulation setup with
previous reports on TCAD analysis of silicon based I-MOS
transistors [18], [19] in order to establish confidence in the
subsequent TCAD analysis of the UI-MOS biosensor. Fig. 2
shows the calibration of the ID vs. VG characteristics of a
conventional P-channel I-MOS transistor predicted by our
simulation setup, with previous report from Fig. 2 of [18]. In
addition to applying a Gaussian doping profile for the source
and drain regions, we used the Selberherrs model for impactionization and Klaassens model for band-to-band tunneling
[16] for calibrating our TCAD setup. As seen from Fig. 2, for

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Fig. 3. P-Channel UI-MOS biosensor ID vs. VG characteristics for

channel length L = 150 nm, VS = 7.0 V and VD = 0 V showing the impact
of charged biomolecules present in the underlap region.

different values of LG/LIN ratio a very good correlation is seen

in our TCAD simulation results with the previous report.
In our simulations, the biomolecule immobilization event
and the consequent charge accumulation in the underlap
region are modeled using a uniform sheet charge
approximation [17]. Although, the actual biomolecular
charges in the underlap region would be discrete, modeling
them as a uniform sheet charge in TCAD simulations is a
reasonable approximation [3], [17], [20] for studying the
device characteristics. In the uniform sheet charge
approximation, an increasing charge density in the underlap
region represents an improved binding efficiency of the
analyte biomolecules to the receptors [17]. A uniform negative
biomolecular charge density of -11013 cm-2, the expected
charge density for analyte biomolecule [20], represents
complete binding of analyte biomolecules to all the receptors
in the underlap region.
A biosensor based biomolecular detection measurement
may be carried out in air ambient (dry environment) or under
aqueous state (watery environment) [21]. The measurements
carried out in wet environment using a conventional underlap
FET biosensor [5] has been shown to be less sensitive to the
presence of biomolecules as compared to similar
measurements in air ambient [21]. The reduced sensitivity in a
wet environment is primarily because of the enhanced effect
of the fringing fields from the gate electrode to the underlap
region, as well as the increased dielectric screening of the
biomolecular charges due to the high dielectric constant () of
the electrolyte [21]. Thus, the presence of the electrolyte will
significantly impact the sensitivity of an underlap based
biosensor.
In order to establish the UI-MOS to be a sensitive device
even in a wet environment, we have included the detailed
TCAD model of the electrolyte. It is possible to consider the
effects of the electrolyte ionic solution in TCAD simulations
by exploiting the similarity of the charge distribution in an
ionic solution to the charge distribution in an intrinsic
semiconductor [17]. In our simulations, the electrolyte,
assumed to be a 1:1 ion solution, has been modeled by
representing it as an intrinsic semiconductor with zero
bandgap [20]. The holes and electrons of this semiconductor
material represent the positive and negative ions in the
solution, respectively and their mobility is taken to be the
actual ionic mobility for an electrolyte ion concentration of 1
mMol per litre [22]. The dielectric constant of the
semiconductor representing the electrolyte is taken as 80

Fig. 4: (a) Energy Band diagram in the UI-MOS silicon film, measured 1
nm below the SiO2-Silicon interface, along the x-axis in the presence and
absence of negatively charged biomolecules for VG = -1 V, VS = 7.0 V and
VD = 0 V. The drain, gate, intrinsic and source regions are marked in the
figure. (b) Energy Band diagram in the underlap region marked in Fig.
4(a) to highlight the steep transition at the edge of the underlap region in
presence of charged biomolecules.

(dielectric constant of water). This TCAD model of the

electrolyte enables modeling the effect of the electrostatic
screening of the ions as well as the electrolytes high dielectric
constant on the UI-MOS operation. The effect on the device
performance due to the electric double-layer formed by the
charged biomolecules is also included in the simulations by
considering the underlap region to have a 5 nm thick insulator
region with a dielectric constant of 2 [20]. The UI-MOS
biosensor based simulation does not include a reference
electrode for the electrolyte as has been done previously for an
underlap FET biosensor in wet environment [21]. We have not
included in our simulations the effects of efficiency of surface
functionalization and biomolecule diffusion kinetics on the
device performance as is also the case in earlier studies [17],
[20].
IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Fig. 3 shows the ID vs. VG characteristics of a P-channel
UI-MOS biosensor. In the absence of the biomolecular
immobilization, the UI-MOS remains in subthreshold regime
for more negative values of VG. However, compared to the
conventional I-MOS, the UI-MOS turns-ON at a less negative
VG due to the dielectric effect of the electrolyte ( = 80) in the
underlap region. When negatively charged biomolecules are
present in the underlap region, the UI-MOS turns-ON at much
lower negative values of VG. It is also observed that the value
of ID reaches ID,Ref at much lower values of VG in the presence
of negatively charged biomolecules. These characteristics are
seen even when the binding of the charged biomolecules to the
receptors in the underlap region is not complete, as
represented by the plot for a charge density of -5 1012 cm-2.
The steep subthreshold slope of both the conventional I-MOS
and the UI-MOS are clearly established from the figure by
observing the sharp change in ID around the turn-ON voltage
for the respective devices. We can also observe from Fig. 3
that the UI-MOS can be turned-OFF even in the presence of
biomolecules by keeping the gate voltage close to 0 V. This
clearly establishes the ability to individually turn-OFF the UIMOS biosensors in a sensor array by controlling the individual
gate voltages, thus offering an advantage over the two
terminal nanowire based IFET reported in [10].

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Fig. 5. Hole concentration for VG = - 3.2 V, VS = 7.0 V and VD = 0 V,

measured 1 nm below the SiO2-Silicon interface, in the underlap region
along the x-axis for different negative biomolecular charge densities. The
x-axis origin is located at the start of the drain region.

Fig. 6. Scurrent as a function of VG for VS = 7.0 V and VD = 0 V due to

increasing biomolecular charge densities in underlap region.

A. Understanding the Impact of Biomolecular charges

The large gate voltage shift (VG) in the ID vs. VG
characteristics with biomolecular immobilization can be
understood by analyzing the energy band diagram in the
silicon film along the x-axis of the UI-MOS. Fig. 4 (a) shows
the energy band diagram in the silicon film before and after
bimolecular immobilization for a gate voltage close to the
turn-ON voltage (~ -1.1 V) of the UI-MOS for a charge
density of -11013 cm-2. These band diagrams correspond to
the ID vs. VG characteristics of Fig. 3 for two cases i.e with no
biomolecules present and in the presence of biomolecules with
a charge density of -1 1013 cm-2. Prior to immobilization by
the negatively charged biomolecules in the underlap region,
the voltages applied to the source and the gate terminals are
not sufficient to generate the required electric field in the
intrinsic region to turn-ON the device by impact ionization.
This is reflected in the gradual change in the energy band
diagram across the channel (LG + LIN) region for the no
biomolecule case (dotted curve) unlike the steep transition
observed when the biomolecules are present in the underlap
(dashed curve). Fig. 4 (b) shows the enlarged version of the
energy band diagram in the underlap region to clearly
demonstrate how the presence of the charged biomolecules
will lead to a steep transition in the energy band diagram at the
edge of the underlap region. This steep transition in the energy
band diagram and the consequent increased electric field
provides sufficient energy to electrons and holes to create
further electron-hole pairs and this multiplication of the
carriers results in impact ionization at lower negative values of
VG. The increase in the electric field in the intrinsic region due
to the presence of negatively charged biomolecules in the
underlap region can be also be understood by the observing
the hole carrier profile along the x-axis in the underlap region
as shown in Fig. 5. We have plotted the hole concentration at

Fig. 7. VG and the peak value of Scurrent for increasing biomolecular

charge density in the underlap region of the P-channel UI-MOS.

Fig. 8. VG and the peak value of Scurrent of the P-channel UI-MOS as a

function of TOX, with immobilized biomolecular charge density of 1.01013 cm-2 and VS = 7.0 V and VD = 0 V.

VG = - 3.2 V, which is very close to the turn-ON voltage (~ 3.5 V) for the UI-MOS in the absence of biomolecules. The
immobilization by the negatively charged biomolecules causes
an increased hole concentration in the channel under the
underlap region resulting in a reduction in the resistance of the
portion of the channel under the gate electrode. The channel of
the UI-MOS can be considered to be comprising of two
resistive regions in series viz. the portion of the channel under
the gate (LG) and the intrinsic (LIN) regions. Therefore, as the
resistance of the channel under the gate reduces due to the
increasing
immobilization
by
negatively
charged
biomolecules, a higher proportion of V SD appears across the
intrinsic region of the channel leading to a higher electric field
in this region. This leads to impact ionization at a lower
negative VG compared to the case when no biomolecule was
present. This explains the VG shift due to the presence of
charged biomolecules.
The increased hole accumulation in the channel due to the
negative biomolecular charges significantly affects the UIMOS sensitivity parameter Scurrent, as shown in Fig. 6. We had
seen previously in Fig. 3 that prior to immobilization by the
biomolecules, the UI-MOS is in subthreshold regime for VG
values up to ~-3.5 V. However, the presence of negatively
charged biomolecules causes an abrupt turn-ON of the UIMOS at VG ~-1 V. This abrupt turn-ON, characteristic of a
steep subthreshold slope device like the UI-MOS, explains the
reason for the large value of Scurrent (~107) at VG ~-1.1 V and is
significantly higher than the conventional FET based
biosensors [2]. Thus the UI-MOS biosensor is extremely
sensitive to the presence of biomolecules in the underlap
region.
B. Impact of Increasing Charge Density
Fig. 7 shows VG and the peak value of Scurrent for a range
of biomolecular charge densities [20] in the underlap region.
As previously mentioned in section III, the increasing charge

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Fig. 9. Hole concentration for VG = - 3.2 V, VS = 7.0 V and VD = 0 V

along the Silicon film thickness (y-axis), measured from the SiO2-Silicon
interface, in the middle of the underlap region along the x-axis for
increasing negative biomolecular charge density.

density in a uniform sheet charge model represents the

increasing binding of analyte biomolecules with receptors in
the underlap region. We have chosen to plot the peak value of
Scurrent for the different charge densities, instead of the value of
Scurrent at a given fixed value of VG, as the turn-ON voltage for
the UI-MOS is a function of the negative charge densities.
Plotting Scurrent at a fixed VG will not reflect the maximum
possible value of Scurrent, and by consequence the sensitivity,
corresponding to the different values of charge densities. From
Fig. 7, we observe that choosing either VG or Scurrent as the
sensing parameter good sensitivity is attained even at
biomolecular charge densities corresponding to 30-50%
binding efficiency. Compared to the sensitivity of
conventional FET biosensors at 100% binding efficiency, the
UI-MOS biosensor shows higher sensitivity even at binding
efficiencies of 30-50%. We can infer from these results that
the UI-MOS is likely to have lower limits of detection as
compared to conventional FET based biosensors and needs
further investigation. In addition, when compared with
alternative steep subthreshold devices [9], the UI-MOS has a
large value of VG (Fig. 7) and much higher values of ID after
turn-ON (Fig. 3). This allows using the UI-MOS as a sensitive
biosensor even in the linear regime, allowing the possibility to
optimize the device for improved signal-to-noise ratio instead
of sensitivity.
C. Impact of Gate Oxide thickness (TOX)
It is observed from Fig. 7 that the value of both VG and
Scurrent are comparable at TOX equal to 10 nm and 15 nm,
across the range of charge densities. This is an important
observation as it establishes the relative independence of the
sensitivity of the UI-MOS transistor due to variation in T OX
between 10 to 15 nm. In order to further understand these
characteristics of the UI-MOS, we have plotted the variation
of VG and the peak value of Scurrent varying TOX from 5 to 15
nm in Fig. 8. We observe that the sensitivity of the UI-MOS,
measured using either VG or Scurrent, at thinner TOX (~5 nm) is
lesser than at thicker TOX (~10-15 nm). This is in contrast to
the behavior observed in conventional FET biosensors where
the sensitivity may significantly reduce with increasing T OX
[3]. For thinner TOX (~5 nm), the effect of the vertical electric
field due to the gate voltage (VG) dominates over the effect of
charged biomolecules present in the underlap region. This
causes the values of VG and Scurrent to be smaller at thinner
TOX compared to thicker TOX where the effect of charged
biomolecules dominates over the effect of VG which leads to a

Fig. 10. VG and the peak value of Scurrent at VS = 7.0 V and VD = 0 V

versus (a) LG and (b) LU/LG ratio, keeping L (150 nm) and TOX (10 nm) as
constant.

higher sensitivity. We also observe that the change in the

values of VG and peak value Scurrent are relatively small for
TOX variation between 10 to 15 nm due to the relatively lesser
effect of VG compared to the biomolecular charges. The
increased sensitivity of the UI-MOS with thicker TOX and
comparable values around a range of T OX i.e between 10 to 15
nm is a significant improvement over many conventional FET
biosensors. Similar analysis on the impact of the value of TOX
on the IFET [10] is not reported.
D. Impact of Electrostatic Screening by Electrolyte Ions
Fig. 9 shows the hole carrier profile along the silicon film
thickness (y-axis) of the UI-MOS channel just below the
underlap region. We observe that the thickness of the hole
accumulation region in the channel of the UI-MOS,
irrespective of the biomolecular charge density in the underlap
region, is approximately 4 nm. Since the Debye-Hckel
screening length due to electrostatic screening by ions in the
electrolyte is ~9.6 nm for a 1 mMol per litre electrolyte ion
concentration [17], the UI-MOS is relatively less impacted by
ionic screening. This is in contrast to the nanowire based
biosensors where electrostatic screening by ions in the
electrolyte significantly affects the sensors performance [23].
This characteristic of the UI-MOS biosensor provides an
advantage over a two terminal nanowire biosensor based on
impact-ionization phenomenon, since the latter may be
significantly impacted by the electrostatic screening effect.
E. Impact of Gate Length (LG) and Underlap Length (LU)
We also simulated the UI-MOS biosensor to study the
impact of the device geometry parameters e.g. LG and LU / LG
on the sensitivity to biomolecular immobilization as shown in
Fig. 10 (a) and Fig. 10 (b), respectively. Keeping L = 150 nm
and LU / LG at 0.7 i.e the underlap occupies 70% of the total
gate length, we observe in Fig. 10 (a) that for a range of values
of LG, the UI-MOS demonstrates high sensitivity. As LG
increases, the underlap length also increases resulting in a
higher surface area for biomolecule immobilization and thus
leading to an increased sensitivity. Similar observation is also
seen at lower binding efficiency, represented by charge
density of -5 1012 cm-2, thus establishing the change in
sensitivity as a function of LG is similar for different quantum
of biomolecular charges present in the underlap. Similarly, in
Fig. 10 (b) we observe that at L = 150 nm and LG = 90 nm,
changes in the underlap length i.e. LU / LG causes changes in
the sensitivity. However, high values of sensitivity are
observed across a range of underlap lengths. Thus, the UIMOS does not require a very precise control over the LU / LG

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ratio in order for it to remain sensitive to biomolecule [6]
immobilization. Similar to Fig. 10 (a), we also observe in Fig.
10 (b) that the change in the UI-MOSs sensitivity with LU is [7]
similar across biomolecular charge densities. Based on the
results from Fig. 9, 10 (a) and 10 (b), for our simulation
studies we have taken LG = 90 nm, LU / LG = 0.7 and TOX = 10 [8]
nm to be the nominal values as these are in the center of the
range of values that we have chosen for the different
parameters.
[9]

V. CONCLUSIONS
We have proposed and analyzed the concept of an underlap
impact-ionization MOS (UI-MOS) biosensor. The UI-MOS
biosensor is compatible with existing CMOS process
technology and the presence of a gate electrode enables
individual addressing in a sensor array [2], [7]-[8]. Thus, the
UI-MOS biosensor is a good candidate for integration with
read-out circuitry for application in point of care testing
systems. Our analysis of the UI-MOS as a biosensor
incorporates detailed TCAD modeling of the electrolyte
including the impact of electrostatic screening by ions in the
electrolyte on the device performance. The UI-MOS exhibits
very high sensitivity (~107) for label-free biomolecule
detection even in a wet environment. This is a significant
improvement over conventional underlap FET biosensors,
where a reduced sensitivity is observed in measurements done
in wet environment when compared with measurements with
air ambient [21]. The very high sensitivity of the UI-MOS in
the subthreshold regime is due to its steep subthreshold slope.
The device also shows a good sensitivity even in the linear
regime. The sensitivity of the UI-MOS is relatively less
impacted by ionic screening effects thus offering an advantage
over nanowire biosensors which can be significantly impacted
by ionic screening [23]. The UI-MOS is demonstrated to
exhibit a high sensitivity across a range of values for LG and
LU / LG. An important feature of the UI-MOS is that it
addresses the issue of reduced sensitivity with increasing
oxide thickness observed in FET based biosensors [3]. This
eliminates the need to manufacture very thin gate oxide
transistors. The very high sensitivity, possibility of low cost
fabrication, and the ability to integrate with read-out circuitry
make the UI-MOS based biosensor an attractive alternative to
the existing FET based biosensors.
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N Kannan has been working with the Technology

Solutions Group of Freescale Semiconductor, India
since 2004. He is currently pursuing the Ph.D. degree
in electrical engineering with IIT Delhi, Delhi, India.

M. Jagadesh Kumar is the NXP (Philips) Chair

Professor established at IIT Delhi by Philips
Semiconductors, The Netherlands. He is also a Principal
Investigator of the Nano-scale Research Facility at IIT
Delhi. He is an Editor of the IEEE TRANSACTIONS
ON ELECTRON DEVICES. For more details on Dr.
Jagadesh Kumar, please visit
http://web.iitd.ac.in/~mamidala