The valence band offset at both SiO2/β-Ga2O3 and HfSiO4/β-Ga2O3 heterointerfaces was measured using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Both dielectrics were deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) onto single-crystal β-Ga2O3. The bandgaps of the materials were determined by reflection electron energy loss spectroscopy as 4.6 eV for Ga2O3, 8.7 eV for Al2O3 and 7.0 eV for HfSiO4. The valence band offset was determined to be 1.23 ± 0.20 eV (straddling gap, type I alignment) for ALD SiO2 on β-Ga2O3 and 0.02 ± 0.003 eV (also type I alignment) for HfSiO4. The respective conduction band offsets were 2.87 ± 0.70 eV for ALD SiO2 and 2.38 ± 0.50 eV for HfSiO4, respectively.
Reverse breakdown voltages larger than 1 kV have been reported for both unterminated Ga2O3 vertical rectifiers (1000- 1600 V) and field-plated Schottky diodes (1076-2300 V) with an epi thickness of 8-20 μm. If the doping is in the 1016 cm-3 range, the breakdown is usually in the 500-800V regime. Furthermore, the switching characteristics of discrete Ga2O3 vertical Schottky rectifiers exhibited reverse recovery times in the range of 20 to 30 ns. Large area (up to 0.2 cm2 ) Ga2O3 rectifiers were fabricated on a Si-doped n-Ga2O3 drift layer grown by halide vapor phase epitaxy on a Sn-doped n+ Ga2O3 (001) substrate. A forward current of 2.2 A was achieved in single-sweep voltage mode, a record for Ga2O3 rectifiers. The on-state resistance was 0.26 Ω·cm2 for these largest diodes, decreasing to 5.9 × 10-4 Ω·cm2 for 40x40 μm2 devices. We detail the design and fabrication of these devices. In addition, an inductive load test circuit was used to measure the switching performance of field-plated, edge-terminated Schottky rectifiers with a reverse breakdown voltage of 760 V (0.1 cm diameter, 7.85x10-3 cm2 area) and an absolute forward current of 1 A on 8 Μm thick epitaxial β-Ga2O3 drift layers. These devices were switched from 0.225 A to -700 V with trr of 82 ns, and from 1 A to -300 V with trr of 64 ns and no significant temperature dependence up to 125°C. There was no significant temperature dependence of trr up to 150°C.
There are opportunities for development of modularized, inexpensive protein biomarker sensors in clinical applications. In this review we focus on two of these, namely early diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and detection of cerebral spinal fluid (CSF). Evaluation of patients with acute chest pain is challenging due to the heterogeneity of the underlying conditions, leading to patients with AMI being mistakenly sent home from emergency rooms or those at low risk for an adverse cardiac event being unnecessarily admitted without precise cardiac biomarker testing. Cardiac troponin I (cTnI) in cardiac muscle tissue is a standard clinical biomarker for AMI, as its concentration rises quickly in the blood during release from myocardial cells following cell death. The time-dependence of the cTnI concentration is the basis of antigen-antibody methodologies such as radioimmunoassay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). These methods are time consuming, leading to delays in diagnosis and higher costs. The challenge is to develop a real-time, accurate, low-cost point-of-care heart attack sensor. The coefficient of variation must be precise, within the parameters established by the American College of Cardiology. Similarly, leakage of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is a critical condition with a high risk of meningitis and potential mortality. The primary methods of detection for the biomarker β2-Transfferin (B2T) are immunofixation electrophoresis (IFE) and ELISA. Consistent IFE results down to 2 μg/mL can be obtained in patient samples, but requires a minimum 2.5-hour testing period, which is not expedient for real time feedback during surgery in or around the central nervous system. Additionally, to achieve good sensitivity and handle the inherently low concentration of B2T in CSF, lab procedures require samples to be concentrated or run in duplicate to ensure accurate detection. Real time turnaround is on the order of days. To alleviate the slow turn-around times, there is strong interest in electronic detection methods for proteins using biologically functionalized transistors, which provide an electronic readout and are readily integrated with wireless data transmission.
Rapid Sars-Cov-2 Virus Detection Using Modular Transistor-Based Biosensor Platform with Disposable Test Strips, Minghan Xian, Hao Luo, Xinyi Xia, Chaker Fares, Patrick Carey, Fan Ren, Siang-Sin Shan, Yu-Te Liao, Josephine F Esquivel-Upshaw, Jenshan Lin, Steven C Ghivizzani, Stephen J Pearton