FLOATING GATE BASED SENSOR APPARATUS AND RELATED FLOATING GATE BASED SENSOR APPLICATIONS

• US 20200132620A1
• Filed: 06/03/2019
• Published: 04/30/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cornell University
• Original Assignee: Cornell University
• Inventors: Jayant, Krishna, Kan, Edwin C.
• Granted Patent: US 10,962,501 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: C12Q 1/6869 Methods for sequencing
• CPC Class Codes: C12Q 1/703 Viruses associated with AIDS
• CPC Class Codes: C12Q 2527/119 pH
• CPC Class Codes: C12Q 2565/607 being a sensor, e.g. electrode
• CPC Class Codes: C12Q 2600/158 Expression markers
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/4145 specially adapted for biomolecules, e.g. gate electrode with immobilised receptors
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/4146 involving nanosized elements, e.g. nanotubes, nanowires
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/42328 with at least one additional gate other than the floating gate and the control gate, e.g. program gate, erase gate or select gate
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/42364 characterised by the insulating layer, e.g. thickness or uniformity H01L29/42324 and H01L29/4234 take precedence

Abstract

A floasting gate based sensor apparatus includes at least two separate electrical bias components with respect to a floating gate based sensor surface within the floating gate based sensor apparatus. By including the at least two electrical bias components, the floating gate based sensor apparatus provides enhanced capabilities for biomaterial and non-biomaterial detection and manipulation while using the floating gate based sensor apparatus.

Claims

1. A sensor apparatus comprising a floating gate based sensor surface located within a liquid sample chamber over a substrate, the floating gate based sensor surface being adapted for electrical bias with at least two separate electrical bias components within the sensor apparatus.

2. The sensor apparatus of claim 1 wherein the floating gate based sensor surface comprises one of a floating gate and a dielectric material clad floating gate.

3. The sensor apparatus of claim 2 wherein the one of the floating gate and the dielectric material clad floating gate is further electrically coupled with at least one control gate.

4. The sensor apparatus of claim 1 wherein the floating gate based sensor surface comprises one of a sensing gate located over and electrically coupled with a floating gate and a dielectric material clad sensing gate located over and electrically coupled with the floating gate.

9. The sensor apparatus of claim 1 wherein the floating gate based sensor surface comprises a material selected from the group consisting of a dielectric material, a conductor material, a metal conductor material and a polysilicon conductor material.

10. The sensor apparatus of claim 1 wherein the substrate comprises a bulk semiconductor substrate.

11. The sensor apparatus of claim 1 wherein the substrate comprises a semiconductor-on-insulator substrate.

12. The sensor apparatus of claim 1 wherein the at least two separate electrical bias components comprise at least two separate control gate bias components that electrically bias the floating gate based sensor surface with respect to the substrate.

13. The sensor apparatus of claim 1 wherein the at least two separate electrical bias components comprise:

a control gate bias component that electrically biases the floating gate based sensor surface with respect to the substrate; and

a reference electrode bias component that electrically biases a sample within the liquid chamber with respect to the floating gate based sensor surface.

14. The sensor apparatus of claim 1 wherein the at least two separate electrical bias components comprise:

a body bias component that electrically biases the floating gate based sensor surface with respect to the substrate; and

a reference electrode bias component that electrically biases a sample within the liquid chamber with respect to the floating gate based sensor surface.

15. The sensor apparatus of claim 1 wherein:

one of the at least two separate electrical bias components is an AC electrical bias component;

and the other of the at least two separate electrical bias components is a DC electrical bias component.

16. The sensor apparatus of claim 1 wherein at least one of the at least two separate electrical bias components comprises a non-volatile transistor that includes a tunneling dielectric and an intergate dielectric.

17. The sensor apparatus of claim 1 wherein the transistor comprises a planar transistor.

18. The sensor apparatus of claim 1 wherein the transistor comprises a finFET transistor.

19. The sensor apparatus of claim 1 wherein the sensor apparatus does not use a gate dielectric as a sensor surface.

5-8. -8. (canceled)

20. A sensing method comprising:

introducing a liquid sample containing at least one analyte into a liquid sample chamber within a sensor apparatus comprising a floating gate based sensor surface located within the liquid sample chamber in-turn located over a substrate, the floating gate based sensor surface having at least two separate electrical biases with at least two separate electrical bias components within the sensor apparatus; and

measuring at least two parameters of the at least one analyte within the liquid sample as a function of the at least two electrical bias with the at least two separate electrical bias components.

21-29. -29. (canceled)

30. A method for measuring a change in the surface area of a cell, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a sensor apparatus comprising a floating gate based sensor surface located within a liquid sample chamber over a substrate and electrically biased with at least two separate electrical bias components within the sensor apparatus;

providing a plurality of cells; and

monitoring, using said sensor apparatus, a change in surface potential of said plurality of cells, wherein a change in surface potential indicates the release of biomolecules from the cell.

31. The method of claim 30, in which the change in surface potential indicates a change in the surface area of said plurality of cells.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the cell is either a neuron, endocrine, neuroendocrine, cancer or immune cell.

33. The method of claim 30, further comprising the step of:

introducing an agent to said plurality of cells.

34-35. -35. (canceled) 146877331.1