Portable Measurement System for the Characterization of Capacitive Field-Effect Sensors

A user-friendly, portable, low-cost readout system for the on-site or point-of-care characterization of chemo- and biosensors based on an electrolyte–insulator–semiconductor capacitor (EISCAP) has been developed using a thumb-drive-sized commercial impedance analyzer. The system is controlled by a c...

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Main Authors: Tobias Karschuck, Stefan Schmidt, Stefan Achtsnicht, Joey Ser, Ismail Bouarich, Georges Aboutass, Arshak Poghossian, Patrick H. Wagner, Michael J. Schöning
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Sensors
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/9/2681
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author Tobias Karschuck
Stefan Schmidt
Stefan Achtsnicht
Joey Ser
Ismail Bouarich
Georges Aboutass
Arshak Poghossian
Patrick H. Wagner
Michael J. Schöning
author_facet Tobias Karschuck
Stefan Schmidt
Stefan Achtsnicht
Joey Ser
Ismail Bouarich
Georges Aboutass
Arshak Poghossian
Patrick H. Wagner
Michael J. Schöning
author_sort Tobias Karschuck
collection DOAJ
description A user-friendly, portable, low-cost readout system for the on-site or point-of-care characterization of chemo- and biosensors based on an electrolyte–insulator–semiconductor capacitor (EISCAP) has been developed using a thumb-drive-sized commercial impedance analyzer. The system is controlled by a custom Python script and allows to characterize EISCAP sensors with different methods (impedance spectra, capacitance-voltage, and constant-capacitance modes), which are selected in a user interface. The performance of the portable readout system was evaluated by pH measurements and the detection of the antibiotic penicillin, hereby using EISCAPs consisting of Al/p-Si/SiO<sub>2</sub>/Ta<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub> structures and compared to the results obtained with a stationary commercial impedance analyzer. Both the portable and the commercial systems provide very similar results with almost perfectly overlapping recorded EISCAP signals. The new portable system can accelerate the transition of EISCAP sensors from research laboratories to commercial end-user devices.
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spelling doaj-art-2ed02f54fe1248878c83c3665581aa4e2025-08-20T02:31:08ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202025-04-01259268110.3390/s25092681Portable Measurement System for the Characterization of Capacitive Field-Effect SensorsTobias Karschuck0Stefan Schmidt1Stefan Achtsnicht2Joey Ser3Ismail Bouarich4Georges Aboutass5Arshak Poghossian6Patrick H. Wagner7Michael J. Schöning8Institute of Nano- and Biotechnologies, FH Aachen, 52428 Jülich, GermanyInstitute of Nano- and Biotechnologies, FH Aachen, 52428 Jülich, GermanyInstitute of Nano- and Biotechnologies, FH Aachen, 52428 Jülich, GermanyInstitute of Nano- and Biotechnologies, FH Aachen, 52428 Jülich, GermanyInstitute of Nano- and Biotechnologies, FH Aachen, 52428 Jülich, GermanyInstitute of Nano- and Biotechnologies, FH Aachen, 52428 Jülich, GermanyMicroNanoBio, 40479 Düsseldorf, GermanyLaboratory for Soft Matter and Biophysics, KU Leuven, 3001 Leuven, BelgiumInstitute of Nano- and Biotechnologies, FH Aachen, 52428 Jülich, GermanyA user-friendly, portable, low-cost readout system for the on-site or point-of-care characterization of chemo- and biosensors based on an electrolyte–insulator–semiconductor capacitor (EISCAP) has been developed using a thumb-drive-sized commercial impedance analyzer. The system is controlled by a custom Python script and allows to characterize EISCAP sensors with different methods (impedance spectra, capacitance-voltage, and constant-capacitance modes), which are selected in a user interface. The performance of the portable readout system was evaluated by pH measurements and the detection of the antibiotic penicillin, hereby using EISCAPs consisting of Al/p-Si/SiO<sub>2</sub>/Ta<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub> structures and compared to the results obtained with a stationary commercial impedance analyzer. Both the portable and the commercial systems provide very similar results with almost perfectly overlapping recorded EISCAP signals. The new portable system can accelerate the transition of EISCAP sensors from research laboratories to commercial end-user devices.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/9/2681field-effect capacitorportable measurement systempH sensorpenicillin biosensor
spellingShingle Tobias Karschuck
Stefan Schmidt
Stefan Achtsnicht
Joey Ser
Ismail Bouarich
Georges Aboutass
Arshak Poghossian
Patrick H. Wagner
Michael J. Schöning
Portable Measurement System for the Characterization of Capacitive Field-Effect Sensors
Sensors
field-effect capacitor
portable measurement system
pH sensor
penicillin biosensor
title Portable Measurement System for the Characterization of Capacitive Field-Effect Sensors
title_full Portable Measurement System for the Characterization of Capacitive Field-Effect Sensors
title_fullStr Portable Measurement System for the Characterization of Capacitive Field-Effect Sensors
title_full_unstemmed Portable Measurement System for the Characterization of Capacitive Field-Effect Sensors
title_short Portable Measurement System for the Characterization of Capacitive Field-Effect Sensors
title_sort portable measurement system for the characterization of capacitive field effect sensors
topic field-effect capacitor
portable measurement system
pH sensor
penicillin biosensor
url https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/9/2681
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