The chemoreceptive neuron MOS transistors (C/spl nu/MOS): a novel floating-gate device for molecular and chemical sensing

We propose a novel chemoreceptive neuron MOS transistor (C/spl nu/MOS) with distinctive features that are crucial to molecular sensing system integration. We have fabricated C/spl nu/MOS transistors with generic molecular receptive areas and experimentally demonstrated high sensitivity from channel current changes and large dynamic range from subthreshold slope shifts in sensing polar and electrolytic liquids. Preliminary measurements have validated most of our assumptions about the performance of these devices and have indicated the feasibility in developing a micropower neuromorphic electronic interface based on existing CMOS technology.