DESIGN AND SIMULATION OF A POCKET-ENGINEERED DIELECTRIC-MODULATED TFET BIOSENSOR FOR LABEL-FREE BREAST CANCER DETECTION

Abstract

This research involves a complete simulation evaluation of a dielectric-modulated Tunnel Field-Effect Transistor (DM-TFET) biosensor intended for the label-free detection of breast cancer cell lines. Possible fabrication steps for the proposed device are also presented. The device displays large differences in its electrical properties by using the various dielectric properties of healthy cells (MCF-10A) and numerous cancer cells, notably Hs578T, MDA-MB-231, MCF7, and T47D. ION increases with the increase in the dielectric constant of immobilized cell, as found from simulation studies. The device shows a maximum Threshold Voltage Sensitivity (∆Vth) of 130 mV and Transconductance Sensitivity (Sgm) of 228 for T47D cells over an air-filled cavity. It is obtained a selectivity factor of 29.6 and a peak Drain Current Sensitivity (SIds) of 606 with respect to healthy cells. The obtained sharp subthreshold swing (SS) of 94.3 mV/dec shows that the proposed sensor has a great potential for fast and highly accurate biological diagnostics.