IEEE SENSORS JOURNAL, VOL. 18, NO.
23, DECEMBER 1, 2018
Analytical Modeling and Simulation-Based
Investigation of AlGaN/AlN/GaN Bio-HEMT
Sensor for C-erbB-2 Detection
Arathy Varghese, Graduate Student Member, IEEE, Chinnamuthan Periasamy , Member, IEEE,
and Lava Bhargava, Member, IEEE
Abstract— Resolution of HEMT sensors needs to be improved
to make feasible the precise detection of antigens from body
fluids like saliva instead of blood. For enhancing sensitivity and
long-term stability, a systematical study of the device becomes
mandatory which is impossible without the aid of an analytical
model. Presented through this work is a mathematical model
developed for high frequency AlGaN/AlN/GaN HEMT with focus
on its sensing performance. The HEMT application as a bio
transistor for detection of c-erbB-2 protein, the breast cancer
biomarker is being focused and the sensitivity analysis is done.
The model developed has been compared and verified with
simulation using Silvaco ATLAS TCAD. The analytical model
for the device has been developed by the rigorous induction and
expansion of Poisson’s equation. Numerical model for charge
equivalent in c-erbB-2 also have been developed and device
sensing is analyzed for varying quantities of c-erbB-2 in both
saliva and serum. Enhanced sensing potentials over the existing
bio-HEMT sensors have been observed in device incorporating
the AlN interlayer and modification of epitaxial design. The
impact of gate length on sensitivity has also been analyzed
and devices of gate length 1 µm and 5 µm yields sensitivity
of 2.5mA/mgL−1 and 0.72mA/mgL−1 , respectively.
Index Terms— AlGaN/AlN/GaN HEMT, analytical model,
Bio-HEMT, breast cancer biomarker, c-erbB-2, sensitivity,
TCAD.
I. I NTRODUCTION
S ILICON based FET biosensors, due to their inherent
advantage of high sensitivity, small size, simple trans-
duction mechanism, compatibility with CMOS process tech-
nologies, low cost, reproducibility and controllable electrical
response have gained huge focus of research attention [1]–[3].
The sensing regime in which they find application ranges
from environmental monitoring in macro scale [4] to study
of biomolecular interactions in nano scale [5]. However, Si
is found to be easily attacked and distorted by chemical and
biological agents. Though SiO2 can provide adequate adhesion
Manuscript received August 17, 2018; accepted September 15, 2018. Date of
publication September 24, 2018; date of current version November 13, 2018.
This work was supported in part by the DST-SERB through the sponsored
project under Grant YSS/2015/000174, and in part by the Young Faculty
Research Fellowship through the Visvesvaraya Ph.D. Scheme for Electronics
and IT, MeitY, Government of India [Ref No:PhDMLA-4(17)/2014]. The
associate editor coordinating the review of this paper and approving it for
publication was Prof. Janice Limson. (Corresponding author: Chinnamuthan
Periasamy.)
The authors are with the Department of Electronics and Communication
Engineering, Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur 302017, India
(e-mail: cpsamy.ece@mnit.ac.in).
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/JSEN.2018.2871718
1558-1748 © 2018 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission.
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9595
and growth of living cells, according to Cimalla et.al [6] and
Kokawa et.al [7], better adhesive properties and better bio
compatibility is exhibited by AlGaN/GaN devices irrespective
of varying Al mole fraction and the process steps involved.
Group III-Nitride based devices exhibits superior material
properties than Si based systems in terms of higher thermal and
chemical stability, higher band gap, sensitivity, lower power
consumption, faster responses and above all higher chemical
stabilities even in aqueous solutions [8]. AlGaN/GaN HEMT
due to the presence of 2DEG at the hetero-interface shows
promise in bio/chemical sensing applications. This 2DEG
channel present at the interface develops an induced positive
charge at the HEMT surface, any change in the ambient varies
this surface charge and as a counter effect varies the channel
density and potential at the device interface.
Targeted through this work is to develop a physics
based model to analyze the bio-sensing performance of an
AlGaN/AlN/GaN HEMT device and to validate the model
by comparison of the analytical and simulated data. The
use of a spacer AlN layer has not been seen in literature
for sensing application though it is widely used in high
power devices to improve the current, power and frequency
performance. Though very high frequencies are not necessary
in the sensing field considerable frequency performances are
recommended as response time is a sensor performance metric.
For application specificity, the sensitivity of the device to
c-erbB-2, a receptor tyrosine kinase whose over-expression can
be used as a biomarker for breast cancer detection has been
modeled and simulated. It is necessary to develop a reliable
physics based model to make feasible, modifications in device
design and parameters to obtain maximum device efficiency
for a particular application. Few GaN HEMT analytical mod-
els are already reported but they interfere with the device
physics due to the inclusion of large number of auxiliary
parameters [9]–[12]. Almost all the application specific models
for HEMT developed till date are in analyzing the device
performance in high frequency high power applications. GaN
HEMT’s achieve high 2DEG sheet carrier density (ns ) of
above 1013/cm2 (without any kind of intentional doping) due
to the presence of spontaneous and piezoelectric polarization
fields. The quantum well formed at the interface can be
modulated through band gap engineering of barrier AlGaN
layer by varying the Al mole fraction. Further deepening of
9596 IEEE SENSORS JOURNAL, VOL. 18, NO. 23, DECEMBER 1, 2018

the quantum well can be achieved by incorporating a thin AlN

layer between the AlGaN and GaN layers.
A surface potential based model has been reported by S.
Khandelwal, but it has two major limitations. Firstly, the
model assumes the existence of a unified Fermi potential
which doesn’t hold true when the gate potential is above 2V.
Secondly the model fails to explain the impact of variation
of drain bias on the device operation [13]. Another compact
drain current model was reported by Yigletu et al. [14] but it
is very complex which limits its applicability. Recent research Fig. 1. Schematic structure of AlGaN/AlN/GaN HEMT.
shows that modern AlGaN/GaN HEMTs incorporate AlN
interlayer in their epi layer design in order to maximize the
device performance in terms its current, frequency and power
performance [15]. However till date an accurate physical
model for AlGaN/AlN/GaN HEMT has not been developed
to serve as a link between the device and its bio-sensing
performance. Application specific validation of HEMT sensor
model has been done through this work by performing the
device sensitivity analysis for c-erbB-2 protein, the breast
cancer bio marker. Numerical model for the onco protein
concentration in human saliva and serum have been developed
in order to predict and apply the equivalent charge/potential
developed when 1 vial (5μg/ml) of the diseased sample is
Fig. 2. Validation of device model by comparison of simulation and model.
applied at the gate electrode.
Deliverables through this work are: an analytical drain cur-
rent model for spacer based AlGaN/AlN/GaN HEMT which
serves as a link between the device and its sensing perfor- spacing (LGD ) of 2 μm is considered along with Al mole
mance. The model developed can be used for validation of fraction (m) of 0.23 in Alm Ga1−m N. LSG chosen is less than
device designs and optimization for better sensing performance LGD in order to reduce the source resistance and device sheet
before the device fabrication. For the first time spacer based resistance between the source and gate, LGD is chosen higher
HEMT is analyzed in view of bio-sensing application. The to ensure device stability as higher breakdown voltages and
modeled device exhibits enhanced device sensitivity due to lower noise levels are attained with higher LGD ’s. The thick-
modified epitaxial design. Numerical model for c-erbB-2 is ness of AlGaN barrier layer (tAlGaN ) used is 22nm as shown
also developed through this work which can be followed for in Fig.1 varying this barrier thickness and the Al mole fraction
modeling any other proteins or antigens using its molecular modulates the performance of the device. NEWTON method
mass and concentration in the diseased states and normal has been used for simulation of the device for validation of
states. Further the impact of gate length on sensitivity is the model using SILVACO ATLAS TCAD. In addition to
analyzed as bio sensor platforms prefer higher gate lengths the concentration dependent mobility model, AUGER, SRH
as bio immobilization area increases with gate length. Higher and CONSRH models used, nitride specific GANSAT model
area for bio immobilization is necessary for higher sensitivity has been used for accurate calculation of mobility. ALBRCT
from the physical sensing view as modeling has the limitation model has been included during simulation for modeling the
of approximating the bio-charge to have uniform concentration low field mobility as a function of temperature. As the device
whereas it is discrete in real case. Sensitivity analysis of is undoped the complexity of analyzing the effect of doping
devices with varying gate length shows that even a long gated on mobility is removed from the device along with guaranteed
device with 5μm gate gives sensitivity of 0.72mA/mgL−1 low noise performance.
which is much higher than other FET biosensors. The accuracy of model calibrations is proved by the per-
fect agreement between the transfer characteristics from the
analytical modeling done in MATLAB 2015a and the device
II. D EVICE A RCHITECTURE AND S IMULATION M ODELS
simulation done using SILVACO ATLAS TCAD (Fig.2). For
Ultra- thin AlN spacer layer of thickness 1nm (less than device simulation, the source and drain contacts were defined
the critical thickness of 2DEG) added between AlGaN and with a work function of 4eV which is the equivalent work
GaN improves the 2DEG density by excluding the charge function of a Ti/Al/Ni/Au stack generally used in HEMT
carriers from the barrier AlGaN layer [16], [17]. Inclusion of devices and the Schottky gate is modeled with a work function
AlN exclusion layer, leads to large conduction band offset at of 5.15eV which is the equivalent work function of Ni/Au.
the hetero interface which is represented as E ce f f in Fig.3, Throughout the study LSG , Z and LGD are kept fixed at
which boosts the device performance. For initial modeling and 1μm, 100 μm and 2μm respectively while the gate length
simulation a gate length of 1μm, gate width (Z) of 100μm, of the device is varied. Other parameters and constants used
source to gate spacing (LSG ) of 1 μm and source to drain in modeling and simulation analysis are included in appendix.

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VARGHESE et al.: ANALYTICAL MODELING AND SIMULATION-BASED INVESTIGATION OF AlGaN/AlN/GaN BIO-HEMT SENSOR
III. A NALYTICAL M ODEL FOR D EVICE O PERATION
The non-centrosymmetry due to electro negativity of Ga
and N atoms leads to formation of a spontaneous polarization
(Psp ) field orthogonal to the hexagonal plane, down to the
Ga face when the device epi layers are grown along the
c-axis, on the Ga face. AlGaN lattice constant is ≈ 3.09A0
when the composition of Al is 23%, which is less than that
of GaN (3.18A0). When AlGaN is grown on GaN, a large
electrical polarization will be developed at the interface due
to the dimensional tension and thus induces the piezoelectric
component (Ppz ) of the polarization field. The 2DEG formed
can be expressed with a nonlinear equation which when sim-
plified using accurate approximation can yield all the device
characteristics. The total polarization at the hetero interface
is
Pt ot = Psp + Ppz
Psp is calculated by linear interpolations and evaluates to be
0.63C/m2. Ppz depends on the lattice and material parameters
and is calculated as follows [18]. The polarization decreases
with the increase in m, the mole fraction of Al in AlGaN and
reduces the sheet charge density due to strain relaxation at the
interface.
 
a (m) − a0 (m) C13 (m)
Ppz = 2 e31 (m) − e33 (m) (2)
a0 (m) C33 (m)
Where a0 and a are the relaxed state and the stressed lattice
constant at the hetero interface respectively, m is the Al mole
fraction in Alm Ga1−m N e and C are the piezoelectric and
elastic constants. As the bottom GaN layer is not strained,
Ppz will be contributed only by the strained AlN spacer layer
and the Alm Ga1−m N barrier layer. Now the total polarization
becomes
Pt ot = Psp (Al m Ga 1−m Ga N) + Psp (Al N) − Psp (Ga N)
+ Ppz (AlGa N) + Ppz (Al N) (3)
Modifying the existing model proposed for AlGaAs/GaAs
HEMT [19], the 2DEG concentration at the interface of
AlGaN/GaN with AlN interlayer can be formulated as
Q 2D E G = qn s
∈ AlGa N (m)
ns =
de f f
 
E F −E ce f f
× (VG S − ∅s + +Vch (x) )
q
q2
E ce f f = E c AlGa N (m) + σ 2 t Al N
∈ AlGa N (m) Al N
de f f = t AlGa N + t Al N + d 2D E G + r g
Where Q 2D E G is the charge density in the 2DEG channel,
∈ AlGa N (m) is the relative permittivity of Alm Ga1−m N, de f f is
the effective distance from the Schottky gate to the channel, r g
is the gate roughness, t AlGa N , t Al N is the thickness of AlGaN
barrier layer and AlN interface layer, σ Al N is the AlN spacer
polarization density, E F is the effective Fermi level at the
hetero interface, Vch (x) is the potential in the 2DEG channel
along the x direction, ∅s is the height of the Schottky barrier,
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9597
Fig. 3. Band diagram showing the conduction band bending below the Fermi
level at the hetero interface leading to the formation of 2DEG.
 
(1)
VG S and Vo f f = ∅s − E q
c
+ Vch (x) are the gate voltage
and the voltage that depletes the 2DEG completely and turns
off the device respectively, Vch (x) is the channel potential,
d 2D E G is the offset of 2DEG from the AlN/GaN interface
as shown in the band diagram (Fig.3). This equilibrium band
diagram of the hetero interface has been plotted using BLAZE
in SILVACO TCAD. The drain current depends on the gate
width, 2DEG density and the electron drift velocity v(x) [20].
E ce f f (0.862eV) is the enhanced conduction band offset
solely contributed by high band gap AlN spacer layer. Using
equation (5), device drain current can be modeled
I D = qn s Z v(x) (8)
For further simplification, v(x) can be expressed in terms
of low field mobility (μ), electric field E(x) and saturation
velocity (v s ) as [21]
v s E(x)
v (x) =  (9)
E 2 (x) + ( vμs )2
Using equations (5), (6), (7), (8), and (9) the device drain
current evaluates to (10), as shown at the top of the next page.
Applying boundary conditions in equation (10), for obtaining
drain current in the linear region (11) and (12), shown at the
top of the next page.
(4) In saturation region,
Vsat
E (x) = E sat = − (13)
Isat
(5) Solution of Poisson’s equation in the Pinch off region gives
the equation [22] (14) and (15), shown at the top of the
(6) next page.
(7) IV. S ENSOR M ODEL
The charge control model developed and analyzed for the
device shows the dependence of output drain current on the
gate bias applied. From the bio-sensing point of view, when
the biomolecules are immobilized its impact on the device
characteristics will be nullified by the applied gate bias. So a
floating gate model is required to perfectly analyze the effect
of the channel/2DEG modulation due to the gate immobi-
lization instead of biasing applied at the gate. The charged
9598 IEEE SENSORS JOURNAL, VOL. 18, NO. 23, DECEMBER 1, 2018

⎛ ⎛ 2
⎞⎞
∈ AlGa N ⎝ E F −(E c AlGa N (m)+ ∈ AlGaq N (m) σ Al
2 t
Al N ) v s E(x)
VG S − ⎝∅s + + Vch (x) ⎠⎠ Z 
N
ID = q (10)
de f f q E 2 (x) + ( v s )2 μ

Vch (x) = 0 at x = 0
⎛ ⎛ ⎞⎞
q2
∈ AlGa N ⎝ E F − (E c AlGa N (m) + ∈ AlGa N (m) σ Al N t Al N ) ⎠⎠
2
v s E(x)
ID = q VG S − ⎝∅s + ∗Z (11)
de f f q E 2 (x) + ( vμs )2
Vch (x) = V D S at x = L
⎛ ⎞
q2
∈ AlGa N (m) E F − (E c AlGa N (m) + ∈ AlGa N (m) σ Al N t Al N )
2
v s E(x)
ID = q ⎝VG S − (∅s + + V D S )⎠ Z  (12)
de f f q E 2 (x) + ( vμs )2

2E s ds L − L sat
Vsat = V D S − sinh[ ] (14)
π 2ds
⎛ ⎞
q2
∈ AlGa N ⎝ E F − (E c AlGa N (m) + ∈ AlGa N (m) σ Al N t Al N )
2
v s E sat
I D S AT =q VG S − (∅s + + V D S )⎠ ∗ Z  (15)
de f f q 2 + ( v s )2
E sat μ

biomolecules after immobilization gets linked to the channel Using eq. (17) and replacing drift velocity v(x) with eq. (9)
through capacitive coupling. Now similar to the gate bias,
when the immobilized charges are positive, more electrons
I D + I D
get induced in to the channel leading to an increased drain ∈ AlGa N (m)
current. Negative charge on the gate will repel the electrons =q
de f f
from the channel thereby leading to a decrement in the drain
q2
current. The device gives a floating gate operation and the E F − (E c AlGa N (m) + ∈ AlGa N (m) σ Al N t Al N )
2

gate voltage here results from the variation in electric field × (∅s +
q
distribution due to the capacitive coupling of charge to the d2D E G Vs E(x)
channel. The gate to channel coupling capacitance is depicted + Vch (x) − VG S )Z √ 2
(21)
de f f (E 2 (x) + ( Vs ) )
as C gch in Fig.4 and its value is directly proportional the gate μ0
charge Q gat e and Vgat e the effective voltage at the gate due
to bio immobilization. Where, μ0 is the 2DEG electron mobility, Another important
Q gat e parameter of great interest from the device and its sensing
C gch = (16) point of view is the threshold voltage and its shifting with the
Vgat e
bio immobilization at the gate. The change in sheet carrier
The modification in the sheet charge density due to the density in terms of floating gate voltage can be represented as
electrostatic variations can be modeled as
∈ AlGa N (m) E F − E ce f f ∈ AlGa N (m)
n s + n s = (VG S − (∅s + n s = ∗ Vt h (22)
de f f q q ∗ d2D E G
d2D E G
+ Vch (x)) − VG S ) (17)
de f f Where, V2D E G = d2D EG
def f VG S is the 2DEG channel voltage
d2D E G = t AlGa N + d 2D E G + t Al N (18) due to the applied gate bias [23], [24] and V t h is the shift
∈ AlGa N (m) −d2D E G in threshold voltage due to bio immobilization. [25], [26]
n s = ( VG S ) (19)
de f f de f f
μbio ∗ Nbio
where, n s is the modified sheet charge density, d2D E G is Vt h = − (23)
the distance between the channel and the gate electrode which ∈bio
is the sum of thickness of AlGaN barrier layer and the offset
of 2DEG from the AlN/GaN interface (d 2D E G ). The change Where, μbio is the dipole moment, ∈bio is the dielectric
in drain current can be modeled as [23], [24]. permittivity of the target bio molecule and Nbio is the gate
surface charge density due to biomolecules. The resultant drain
I D + I D = q (n s + ns ) Z v(x) (20) current in terms of threshold voltage shift can be written as

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VARGHESE et al.: ANALYTICAL MODELING AND SIMULATION-BASED INVESTIGATION OF AlGaN/AlN/GaN BIO-HEMT SENSOR
Fig. 4. Bio-immobilization at the functionalized Au gated electrode.
follows
I D + I D
∈ AlGa N (m)
= field is applied. It depends on the carrier transport in wurtzite
de f f
q2
E F − (E c AlGa N (m) + ∈ AlGa N (m) σ Al N t Al N )
2
× (∅s +
q gate electrode an interface region is defined initially with
μbio ∗ Nbio v s E(x)
+ Vch (x) − )Z √
∈bio (E (x) + ( v s )2 )
2
μ0
V. C- ERB B-2 M ODEL
Breast cancer due to its high frequency of occurrence
has become a severe public health problem in the recent
years. The biomarker for breast cancer detection is C-erbB-2
(aliases: ERBB2, HER2, erb-b2 receptor tyrosine kinase 2,
NEU, MLN 19, NGL, CD340) which is an epidermal growth
factor receptor in humans. This trans-membrane glycopro-
tein is over expressed by 25 to 30% during the progres-
sion and development of certain aggressive breast cancer
variants [27], [28]. It has been experimentally proved by
Chen et al. [29] in 2008 that GaN HEMT can be used effec-
tively in detection of c-erbB-2 onco protein. The physical
recognition procedure includes anchoring the antigen to its
specific antibody functionalized Au coated gate area. The
detection process is as shown in Fig.4. Here the target biomole-
cule linker is a thin layer of self-assembled thioglycolic acid
(HSCH2 COOH). Self-assembly occurs through the molecular
linking of thiol and gold. For analyzing the sensing behavior
of the device charge control or voltage controlled model can
be developed for which the effective charge due to c-erbB-2
has to be numerically modeled. To achieve this, net charge due
to c-erbB-2 molecules in saliva and serum is calculated and
applied as interface charge at the gate electrode. Clinically
relevant concentration of c-erbB-2 in a healthy person is
4-6μg/ml in saliva at pH 7.3 and 60-90 μg/ml in serum
at pH 7.35. Amplified values are seen in cancer patients,
9-13 μg/ml in saliva and 140-210μg/ml in serum [27], [28].
Molar concentration of the protein is calculated which when
multiplied with the charge in a single molecule gives the
net charge per 1M. As 1M consists of Avogadro number of
particles, on multiplying it gives the effective charge equivalent
of c-erbB-2.
Q cerb2 = (Conc. o f cer b2 ∗ qcerb2 ) Avogadr o Number
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9599
Where qcerb2 is the net charge on individual protein
molecule. Q cerb2 is the net charge due to c-erbB-2 and
Avogadr oNumber is 6.023 ∗ 1023 . The effective charge
due to c-erbB-2 falls in the range 1014 -1015/cm2 (Table. I).
In practical experimentation, quantity of sample used is in
vials and one vial is 5μg/ml. So the total charge per vial has
to be calculated, the molecular weight of ERBB-2 is 68.6kDa.
The total charge present per vial when calculated evaluates to
343nM. Bio immobilization has the same impact as application
of an equivalent DC gate bias Vdc
Vdc = x ∗ (E/Q) (26)
Where x is the equivalent charge, E/Q is the voltage
equivalent when unit charge is applied on gate. E is the
allowable energy in GaN crystal when no external electric
and has a value of 0.12eV. For simulating the effect of bio
molecular immobilization on the device characteristics, at the
permittivity of air and the device drain current is plotted which
(24) becomes the reference current for device sensitivity analysis.
VI. R ESULTS AND D ISCUSSIONS
A. Sensing Current
Sensing current I D in equations (21) and (24) in the
sensor model is the absolute value of variation in drain current
with the modulation of gate potential due to bio interaction.
The channel depletion width near the conducting edge gets
modulated by applied gate bias. In the sensor model for
the device design, the gate bias gets modulated depending
upon the change in the surface potential of the gate electrode
when the equivalent interface charge with respect to the bio
molecular interaction is applied. Upon application of increased
bio charge, the width of the depletion region will increase
leading to a decreased current flow. Hence, I D the change
in current increases with increase in concentration of charged
target bio molecules. In short, it has the same impact as
that of application of negative bias at the gate electrode. For
c-erbB-2 concentrations in saliva we can see that the model
and simulation results show minor variation of 0.96μA as seen
in Fig.5 (a) however as the concentration of c-erbB-2 increases
this difference in drain current between the model and simu-
lation becomes negligible (the plots overlaps, Fig.5 (b)).
B. Channel Potential
The potential distribution in the 2DEG channel region at
the AlGaN/AlN interface falls with introduction of negatively
charged c-erbB-2. The range of electrostatic potentials for
different concentrations in serum and saliva is plotted as shown
in Fig.6 (a) and (b). The channel potential decreases by 45mV
when peak c-erbB-2 concentration in serum diseased state is
taken into test. As the peak concentration of c-erbB-2 in saliva
is less (13μg/ml), when the equivalent charge immobilization
at gate is considered the channel potential is decreased by
a lower value 2.8mV. The change in channel potential is
(25) contributed by the varying flat band voltage (Vgate ) which is
9600
R ANGE OF C-erbB-2 C ONCENTRATIONS IN H UMAN S ALIVA AND S ERUM FOR A H EALTHY AND AN A FFECTED P ERSON
Fig. 5. Sensing current variation for the boundary concentrations of c-erbB-2
(a) in saliva and (b) in serum for healthy and diseased.
directly proportional to the applied charge in equation (16).
The change in flat band voltage can be expressed as
Q cerb−2
V f b =
C gat e
C. Channel Conductance
Channel conductance/drain conductance (gd ) is expressed
as
∂ ID
gd = |V =const ant
∂ VD S G S
The intrinsic device before bio immobilizations exhibit a peak
conductance above 0.4S/mm at VDS = 0V. As conductance is
a performance metric, good sensing performance is ensured by
this high value of device conductance. Channel conductance
(gd ) decreases with increase in gate surface charge due to bio
immobilization as shown in Fig.7 (a) and (b). This proves the
enhancement of device resistance in linear region, due to the
capacitive coupling of the additional charge applied to the gate.
gdmax is observed at the transition region and at VDS = 8V, all
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IEEE SENSORS JOURNAL, VOL. 18, NO. 23, DECEMBER 1, 2018
TABLE I
Fig. 6. potential profile for boundary concentrations of c-erbB-2 (a) in saliva
and (b) in serum for healthy and diseased.
the channel conductance falls below 0.02S/mm indicating the
(27) device stability and superior carrier confinement. Maximum
gd for charge equivalent of 13μg/ml concentration of c-
erbB-2 in saliva is 0.0083S/mm and for 210μg/ml of c-erbB-
2 in serum is 0.134S/mm. From this variation in channel
conductance, it can be concluded that the modeled device
behaves like a resistive sensor, i.e. resistive behavior of the
channel will be observed when an external drain bias is
(28) introduced. Compared to the existing Bio-FET’s [29] the
modeled device exhibits larger variation in conductance and
hence larger variation in drain current due to high transistor
gain factor.
D. Sensitivity
It is observed that the drain current decreases linearly in
proportion to the target protein concentration (Fig.8). Device
sensitivity in terms of c-erbB-2 detection can be defined as
the absolute change in drain current per unit increase in
VARGHESE et al.: ANALYTICAL MODELING AND SIMULATION-BASED INVESTIGATION OF AlGaN/AlN/GaN BIO-HEMT SENSOR
Fig. 7. Channel conductance variation with bio interaction for boundary
concentrations of c-erbB-2 (a) in human serum and (b) in human saliva.
concentration of the biomarker in saliva or serum. From
Fig.6 it can be concluded that the net change in sensing
current or the average sensitivity of the device is 2.5mA/mm
per mg/L increase in c-erbB-2 concentration. In AlGaN/GaN
HEMT sensor described by Chen et al. [29], the device
sensitivity reported is in few micro amperes, using this
AlGaN/AlN/GaN HEMT design, with epitaxial engineering
and appropriate use of device gate length and other dimensions
a much higher sensitivity will be exhibited by the device
design if fabricated. Though the physical environment and the
fabrication process based contaminations may cause variations
in the device response, as there is a huge margin between the
existing design and this modeled device which gives the device
potential to overpower the existing system. Further using the
model developed the sensing performance can be enhanced by
proper engineering of the gate area, source to gate spacing,
source to drain spacing, Al mole fraction in AlGaN, thickness
of the barrier layer, using gate recess, using source and drain
recess and so on. An example for the use of model to study
the sensitivity variation and optimize the device is as follows.
E. Impact of Gate Length on ON Current, Sensing Current
and Sensitivity
When the gate length is increased, the device ON current
decreases as shown in Fig.9, this may seem like adversely
affecting the device performance. But from the sensing
point of view the device performance increases with the
gate length in practical applications unlike as in simulation.
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9601
Fig. 8. Sensing current profile for uniform increase in c-erbB-2 conc.
Fig. 9. Current variation with gate length for varying c-erbB-2 conc.
Modeling/simulation takes into account uniform sheet charge
approximation but bio-concentration/distribution will be dis-
crete and higher gate length can provide larger area for bio
immobilization and hence higher sensitivity. It’s practically
observed in FET based sensors that even though the drain
current decreases, the sensing current increases with the
increase in gate length [30]. The device sensing current has
been analyzed for varying c-erbB-2 concentrations and plotted
here is ID -VDS for initial device before immobilization and
with charge equivalent for 4mg/L 12mg/L as shown in Fig.10.
The gate length of the device is varied from 1μm to 5μm
to study the change in device sensitivity in order to ensure
that device gives good sensitivity with longer gate lengths. All
other device parameters are kept constant while the gate length
is varied and the device response has been plotted. Increasing
gate length has both advantage and disadvantage as when we
increase the gate length above 10μm the drain current falls in
μA range.
From Fig.9 and Fig.10, it can be concluded the device
ON current decreases from 1.97 to 0.48A/mm when gate
length of device is increased from 1μm to 5μm for c-erbB-2
concentration of 12μg/ml, while the sensing current falls from
26.5mA/mm to 8.7mA/mm. The sensitivity or the variation in
sensing current is not heavily affected with the increase in gate
length like the device ON current. The variation in sensitivity
with the increase in gate length is shown in Table. II. The
sensitivity falls from 2.504mA/mgL−1 to 0.72mA/mgL−1.
It can be observed that even though higher sensitivities are
9602
Fig. 10. Variation in sensing current with gate length for c-erbB-2 concen-
trations: 4μg/ml and 12μg/ml.
Fig. 11. Impact of gate length on peak device sensing currents.
showcased by short channel devices, comparatively higher
sensitivities than other FET sensors (that lack in resolution
as sensitivities attained are in few tens of μ A’s) can be
attained even when longer channel devices are considered.
The fall in sensing current with increase in gate length is
plotted in Fig.11 (this trend shall be followed but in practical
case the plot won’t be linear due to the discrete nature of
bio-marker distribution).The model developed can be used for
modeling and optimizing the sensor performance for any other
chemical or biomarker detection by formulating the resultant
charge in the target of interest and applying it at the device
interface. Similar to the sensing analysis for varying gate
lengths, any other parameter of the device can be varied in
the model and sensitivity analysis can be done to optimize the
device for the application of interest. The basic limitation of a
model is that we have considered uniform charge density for
the ease of modeling but in practical application, the charge
concentration will be discrete and never uniform.
VII. C ONCLUSION
C-erbB-2 detection using AlGaN/AlN/GaN HEMT has been
investigated by developing an analytical model and results
has been verified using simulation. The addition of AlN
interlayer in the epitaxial design improves the device ON
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IEEE SENSORS JOURNAL, VOL. 18, NO. 23, DECEMBER 1, 2018
TABLE II
R EDUCTION OF S ENSITIVITY W ITH I NCREASE IN G ATE L ENGTH
TABLE III
D EVICE PARAMETERS , C ONSTANTS AND C OEFFICIENTS
current and sensing currents above the conventional HEMT
sensor designs. The impact of bio immobilization on the drain
current, channel potential and channel conductance has been
investigated by employing the model for various concentra-
tions of c-erbB-2 onco protein in human saliva and serum.
Drain current has been used as the sensing metric throughout
the work. The range of sensing currents for diseased and
healthy state concentration of c-erbB-2 in saliva and serum
has been investigated along with the impact of gate length on
device sensitivity. The sensing current varies with gate length
as 2.504, 1.58, 1.12, 0.875 and 0.72mA/mgL−1 for 1, 2, 3,
4 and 5μm respectively. Also considering the practical discrete
behavior of charged molecules in real sample, sensing behavior
of device is analyzed using higher gate lengths for provision of
larger bio-immobilization areas. It’s clear from the results that
the device can give good sensing behavior compared to other
FET based sensor even with a larger gate length of 5-10μm.
A PPENDIX
The parameters constants and coefficients used for the
device modeling and simulation are given in Table III.
VARGHESE et al.: ANALYTICAL MODELING AND SIMULATION-BASED INVESTIGATION OF AlGaN/AlN/GaN BIO-HEMT SENSOR
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Arathy Varghese received the B.Tech. degree in
electronics and communication engineering from the
Government College of Engineering and Manage-
ment Punnapra, Kerala, India, in 2013, and the
M.Tech. degree in VLSI and embedded system
from the Saintgits College of Engineering Kottayam,
Kerala, in 2015. She is currently pursuing the Ph.D.
degree with the Department of Electronics and Com-
munication, Malaviya National Institute of Technol-
ogy, Jaipur, India. Her research interest includes
modeling, simulation and fabrication of high
frequency, and sensing devices.
Chinnamuthan Periasamy received the B.E. degree
in ECE from Periyar University, Viluppuram, India,
in 2002, and the Ph.D. degree in electronics engi-
neering from IIT-BHU, Varanasi, India, in 2011.
He is currently an Assistant Professor with the
Department of ECE, Malaviya National Institute of
Technology, Jaipur, India. He has published more
than 45 papers in various international journals and
conference proceedings. His research interest covers
nano material-based electronic, piezoelectronic, and
biosensor devices.
Lava Bhargava received the B.E. and M.E. degree
in ECE from MREC Jaipur, in 1988 and 1999,
respectively, and the Ph.D. degree from the Electrical
Engineering Department, IIT-Delhi, India, in 2013.
He is currently a Professor with the Department
of ECE, Malaviya National Institute of Technology,
Jaipur, India. He has published more than 15 papers
in various international journals and conference pro-
ceedings. His research interest covers VLSI system
level design, embedded and FPGAs systems, nano,
and micro devices.