Sensor systems for multi-parameter detection in fluidics usually combine different sensors, which are designed to detect either a physical or (bio-)chemical parameter. Therefore, such systems include a more complicated fabrication technology and measuring set-up. In this work, an ISFET (ion-sensitive field-effect transistor), which is well known as a (bio-)chemical sensor, is utilized as transducer for the detection of both (bio-)chemical and physical parameters. A multifunctional hybrid module for the determination of two (bio-)chemical parameters (pH, penicillin concentration) and three physical parameters (temperature, flow velocity and flow direction) using only two sensor structures, an ion generator and a reference electrode, is realized and its performance has been investigated. Here, a multifunctionality of the sensor system is achieved by means of different sensor arrangements and/or different operation modes. A Ta2O5-gate ISFET was used as transducer for all sensors. A novel time-of-flight type ISFET-based flow-velocity (flow rate) and flow-direction sensor using in-situ electrochemical generation of chemical tracers is presented. Due to the fast response of the ISFET (usually in the millisecond range), an ISFET-based flow sensor is suitable for the measurement of the flow velocity in a wide range. With regard to practical applications, pH measurements with this ISFET were performed in rain droplets.
Sensor systems for multi-parameter detection in fluidics usually combine different sensors, which are designed to detect only one physical or (bio-)chemical parameter. In the present work, an ISFET (ion-sensitive field-effect transistor), which is well known as a (bio-)chemical sensor, is utilised for the flow velocity and flow direction measurement for the first time. The proposed flow sensor presents a chemical sensor-actuator system and consists of a H+-ion generator and a pH ISFET that detects the in-situ electrochemically generated H+ ions. By measuring the time of flight, the flow velocity can be determined. Since this measuring method represents a dynamic method, a calibration of the sensor usually is not required, because only relative changes in the sensor output signal are of interest. Moreover, sensor+s drift, temperature instability and sensitivity discrepancy between the various ISFETs are not relevant. The experimental results show good linearity between the measured flow velocity with the ISFET and the delivered flow rate of the pump. Due to the fast response of the ISFET (usually in the millisecond range), an ISFET-based flow sensor is suitable for the measurement of the flow velocity in a wide range. The results of the flow direction measurement with two ISFETs are presented, too.
Silicon sensors can be fabricated as small, rugged and reliable chip devices with a broad field of applications in medicine, biotechnology, food analysis and environmental monitoring. Thus, there is an increasing demand in realizing such sensors for the determination of, e.g. chemical and biological quantities in aqueous solutions. By developing semiconductor-based field-effect structures, moreover, their main advantage is due to the combination of both the physical effect as the transducer principle and the deposition of the sensitive layers directly onto the silicon chip. In this work, different sensor types that are originated from the field effect are presented: The capacitive ElS (electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor) sensor is suitable for the pH detection using the capacitance/voltage technique. By immobilizing an additional enzyme layer, e.g. of penicillinase, a biosensor has been realized. Both sensors can be integrated as an EIS sensor array. The utilization of the porous silicon technology offers the possibility of a further miniaturization. The LAPS (light-addressable potentiometric sensor) is based on the identical ElS structure. Here, each measuring point on the surface can be arbitrarily addressed by a probing light. The resulting photocurrent is generated as the sensor signal. This arrangement also allows a two-dimensional mapping of the spatial distribution of ions or molecules.
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