Surface Charge Modulation and Reduction of Non-Linear Electrolytic Screening in FET-Based Biosensing

We experimentally investigate the influence of non-linear electrolytic screening by the electric double layer (EDL) and its impact on the field-effect transistor (FET) sensitivity to charged (bio)molecules. We use DNA hybridization to a PNA capture probe layer as model system. By co-depositing positively or negatively charged blocker molecules together with the PNA capture probes on the negatively charged SiO 2 surface of the FET, we control the overall surface charge and modulate the strength of local ion concentration within the EDL. We observe a FET signal enhancement of up to 51% when the overall charge including the captured analyte itself swings roughly symmetrically around zero during capture, as confirmed by zeta potential measurements. Surface plasmon resonance measurements rule out a change in captured analyte density as the origin of the enhancement in sensitivity. This confirms that excess screening caused by the large local ion concentration, which increases non-linearly with potential in the EDL, is responsible for a loss in sensitivity in bioFETs with a charged surface. These experimental findings agree with the early theoretical works that find a low surface potential to be desirable for the best bioFET performance.