NEMS Capacitive Sensors for Highly Sensitive, Label-Free Nucleic-Acid Analysis

A highly sensitive NEMS capacitive sensor with electrode separation in the order of Debye length is fabricated for label free DNA analysis. The use of nano-scale electrode separation provides better insight in to the target-probe interaction which was not previously attainable with macro or even micro scale devices. As the double layers from both the capacitive electrodes merge together and occupy a major fraction of the capacitive volume, the contribution from bulk sample resistance and noises due to electrode polarization effects are eliminated. The dielectric properties during hybridization reaction were measured using 10-mer nucleotide sequences. A 45-50% change in relative permittivity (capacitance) was observed due to DNA hybridization at 10Hz. Capacitive sensors with 30nm electrode separation were fabricated using standard silicon micro/nano technology and show promise for future electronic DNA arrays and high throughput screening of nucleic acid samples.