A high-density conduction-based micro-DNA identification array fabricated with a CMOS compatible process

A high-density CMOS-compatible deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) array fabricated with a modified metallization process is demonstrated. The array consists of silicon nitride isolation to confine the DNA sample to a specific cell area defined by silicon dioxide to achieve low crosstalk between neighboring cells. A prehybridization process together with a conductive enhancement method are also developed to improve the signal to noise ratio. Nine orders of magnitude difference in conductance is measured between array cells with matched and single-based mismatched DNA samples. The matching of DNA molecules can then be easily detected by a simple digital switching circuit.