RESEARCH Open Access Numerical simulation of ISFET structures for biosensing devices with TCAD tools

Background: Ion Sensitive Field Effect Transistors (ISFETs) are one of the primitive structures for the fabrication of biosensors (BioFETs). Aiming at the optimization of the design and fabrication processes of BioFETs, the correlation between technological parameters and device electrical response can be obtained by means of an electrical device-level simulation. In this work we present a numerical simulation approach to the study of ISFET structures for bio-sensing devices (BioFET) using Synopsys Sentaurus Technology Computer-Aided Design (TCAD) tools. Methods: The properties of a custom-defined material were modified in order to reproduce the electrolyte behavior. In particular, the parameters of an intrinsic semiconductor material have been set in order to reproduce an electrolyte solution. By replacing the electrolyte solution with an intrinsic semiconductor, the electrostatic solution of the electrolyte region can therefore be calculated by solving the semiconductor equation within this region. Results: The electrostatic behaviour (transfer characteristics) of a general BioFE