US Patent 8022444 - Silicon nanowire biosensor

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8022444.html

This patent teaches a nanowire chemfet sensor in which the contact resistance between the silicon nanowire channel and the source/drain electrodes is reduced in order to improve the sensitivity. Claim 1 reads:


1. A biosensor comprising:

a silicon substrate;

a source region disposed on the silicon substrate;

a drain region disposed on the silicon substrate;

a silicon nanowire disposed on the source region and the drain region, and having a defect region formed by irradiation of an electron beam; and

wherein the defect region has a lower electron mobility than other regions of the silicon nanowire.