Label-Free Biomolecule Detection with InP/AlGaAs Charge Plasma Dielectric-Modulated Vertical TFET Using TaN as Metal Gate

This study introduces a label-free biosensing method for biomolecule detection utilizing an InP/AlGaAs charge plasma dielectric-modulated vertical tunnel field-effect transistor (InP/AlGaAs VTFET) featuring TaN as the metal gate. The device comprises a nanocavity beneath the gate metal adjacent to the tunnelling junction, where biomolecules engage with the dielectric material, resulting in fluctuations in the drain current. A twin metal gate architecture with laterally split dielectrics is employed to eliminate short-channel effects. The biosensor has exceptional sensitivity, attaining a peak drain current sensitivity of 2.5 × 10 cm² for biomolecules such as albumin (k = 7). The gadget proficiently identifies biomolecules with varying dielectric constants and charge distributions, enabling adaptable label-free detection of diverse targets. The study examines the influence of dielectric constant on critical metrics such as Energy Band Diagrams, Drain Current, Drain Sensitivity, and subthreshold swing (SS). The overlap between the source and pocket regions, along with the introduction of an auxiliary gate, optimizes the electrical characteristics. Simulation results show that the proposed InP/AlGaAs VTFET achieves a maximum sensitivity of 3.5 × 10³, outperforming configurations without overlap (2 × 10³), highlights the potential of proposed InP/AlGaAs VTFET for scalable, high-sensitivity, label-free biomolecule detection.