Sensing system

• US 20070096164A1
• Filed: 10/31/2005
• Published: 05/03/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Peters, Kevin, Yang, Xiaofeng
• Application Number:
  US11/263,787
• Publication Number:
  US 20070096164A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 257/253
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 15/00 Nanotechnology for interacting, sensing or actuating, e.g. quantum dots as markers in protein assays or molecular motors
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/4146 involving nanosized elements, e.g. nanotubes, nanowires

Abstract

A ChemFET Sensing system is Described.

Claims

1. A CHEMFET sensing system for detecting a presence of at least one analyte in a sample, comprising:

a first electrode;

a second electrode;

a nanowire that bridges the first and second electrode, where the nanowire includes a sensing segment that is located between the first and second electrode; and

a switch operable to electrically connect and disconnect the sensing segment from the second electrode.

2. The sensing system of claim 1, wherein the nanowire sensing segment is functionalized to enable the nanowire to electrically respond to a presence of an analyte in a sample when the nanowire sensing segment is in contact with the sample.

3. The sensing system of claim 2, wherein the analyte is a DNA target molecule.

4. The sensing system of claim 2, wherein the nanowire sensing segment is functionalized with a functional agent that comprises an electroplated metal.

5. The sensing system of claim 2, wherein the nanowire sensing segment is functionalized with a functional agent that comprises a nucleic acid.

6. The sensing system of claim 2, wherein the nanowire has a cross-sectional dimension that is less than 100 nanometers.

7. The sensing system of claim 2, wherein the nanowire has a cross-sectional dimension that is less than approximately 10 nanometers.

8. The sensing system of claim 2, wherein the nanowire sensing segment has a rectangular cross-sectional and the nanowire is formed from a semi-conductor material.

9. The sensing system of claim 2, wherein the switch comprises a means for generating an electric field that produces a field effect within the nanowire, where the field effect prevents current in the nanowire from passing between the nanowire sensing segment and the second electrode.

10. The sensing system of claim 2, wherein the switch comprises:

a gate electrode disposed over a region of the nanowire located between the nanowire sensing segment and the second electrode; and

a dielectric material of pre-determined thickness disposed between the gate electrode and the nanowire;

where the gate electrode is operable to generate an electric field that produces a field effect within the nanowire, where the field effect prevents current in the nanowire from passing between the nanowire sensing segment and the second electrode.

11. The sensing system of claim 2, where the first and second electrodes provide contact points for a monitor that is capable of monitoring an electrical property of the nanowire while the nanowire sensing segment is in contact with the sample.

12. The sensing system of claim 11, further comprising:

a fluid handling system for placing the sample in contact with the nanowire sensing segment.

13. A CHEMFET sensing system for detecting a presence of at least one analyte in a fluid sample, the sensing system comprising:

a first electrode;

a second electrode;

an array of nanowires each having a functionalized sensing segment and each physically connected at one end to the first electrode and at an opposite end to the second electrode;

a switching system operable to electrically connect and disconnect the sensing segment of each nanowire from the second electrode.

14. The sensing system of claim 13, further comprising:

a fluid handling system configured to place the fluid sample in contact with the sensing segment of each nanowire in the array.

15. The sensing system of claim 14, where at least some of the nanowire sensing segments are differently functionalized to enable the CHEMFET sensing system to detect a presence of more than one type of analyte in the fluid sample.

16. The sensing system of claim 15, wherein the switching system comprises:

means for generating an electric field that produces a field effect within each nanowire in the array that prevents current in each nanowire from passing between the sensing segment of the nanowire and the second electrode.

17. The sensing system of claim 15, wherein the switching system comprises:

a gate electrode disposed over a region of each nanowire in the array located between the nanowire sensing segment and the second electrode;

a dielectric material of pre-determined thickness disposed between the gate electrode and each nanowire in the array; and

where a pre-determined voltage placed on the gate electrode generates an electric field that produces a field effect within each nanowire in the array that prevents current in each nanowire from passing between the sensing segment of the nanowire and the second electrode.

18. The sensing system of claim 15, further comprising:

a demultiplexer (DEMUX) operative to electrically disconnect selected nanowire sensing segments in the array from the first electrode in response to an address input.

19. The sensing system of claim 15, further comprising:

means for electrically disconnecting selected nanowire sensing segments from the first electrode in response to an address input.

20. The sensing system of claim 14, wherein at least two of the nanowire sensing segments in the array are differently functionalized and are spaced less than 1000 nanometers apart.

21. The sensing system of claim 14, wherein at least two of the nanowire sensing segments in the array are differently functionalized and are spaced less than 100 nanometers apart.

22. The sensing system of claim 14, wherein the array includes a first nanowire and a second nanowire;

where the first nanowire includes a sensing segment that is functionalized with a first functional agent that comprises a first DNA oligonucleotide probe molecule having a first sequence of bases; and

where the second nanowire includes a sensing segment that is functionalized with a second functional agent that comprises a second DNA oligonucleotide probe molecule having a second sequence of bases that is different than the first sequence of bases.

23. The sensing of claim 18, where the first and second electrodes provide contact points for a monitor that is capable of monitoring an electrical property of each nanowire in the array while the nanowire sensing segment is in contact with the sample.

24. A CHEMFET sensing system, comprising:

a common electrode;

a demultiplexer (DEMUX) that includes an input line, a set of address lines and a set of outputs;

an array of nanowires, where each nanowire in the array includes a sensing segment and is connected at one end to a different output of the DEMUX and at the other end to the common electrode;

a switching system operable to electrically connect and disconnect the sensing segment of each nanowire in the array from the common electrode.

25. The sensing system of claim 24, further comprising:

a fluid handling system configured to place a fluid sample that is being tested in contact with the sensing segment of each nanowire in the array.

26. The CHEMFET sensing system of claim 24, wherein the array of nanowires comprise:

a first nanowire having a sensing segment that is functionalized to enable the nanowire to electrically respond to a presence of a first analyte in the sample;

a second nanowire having a sensing segment that is functionalized to enable the nanowire to electrically respond to a presence of a second analyte in the sample;

wherein the first and second analytes are two different analytes.