An Integrated Circuit for Galvanostatic Electrodeposition of on-chip Electrochemical Sensors

Minghao Li*, Atal A.S. Gill, Anne Vanhoestenberghe, Sara S. Ghoreishizadeh

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference paperpeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper presents the design of an integrated circuit (IC) for (i) galvanostatic deposition of sensor layers on the on-chip pads, which serve as the sensor's base layer, and (ii) amperometric readout of electrochemical sensors. The system consists of three main circuit blocks: the electrochemical cell including a 4×4 electrode array, two Beta-multiplier based current generators and one pA-size current generator for galvanostatic electrodeposition, and a switch-capacitor based amperometric readout circuit for sensor current measurement. The circuits are designed and simulated in a 180-nm CMOS process. The three current reference circuits generate a stable current from 7.2 pA to 88 µA with low process, power supply voltage and temperature (PVT) sensitivity. The pA-size current generator has a temperature coefficient of 517.8 ppm/°C on average (across corners) in the range of 0 to 60°C. The line regulation is 4.4 %/V over a supply voltage range of 0.8-3 V. The feasibility of galvanostatic deposition on on-chip pads is validated by applying a fixed current of 300 nA to electrochemically deposit a gold layer on top of electrodes with nickel/zinc as the adhesive layer for gold. Successful deposition of gold was confirmed using optical microscope images of the on-chip electrodes.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationICECS 2022 - 29th IEEE International Conference on Electronics, Circuits and Systems, Proceedings
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
ISBN (Electronic)9781665488235
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022
Event29th IEEE International Conference on Electronics, Circuits and Systems, ICECS 2022 - Glasgow, United Kingdom
Duration: 24 Oct 202226 Oct 2022

Publication series

NameICECS 2022 - 29th IEEE International Conference on Electronics, Circuits and Systems, Proceedings

Conference

Conference29th IEEE International Conference on Electronics, Circuits and Systems, ICECS 2022
Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
CityGlasgow
Period24/10/202226/10/2022

Keywords

  • biosensor array
  • complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)
  • current reference
  • electrochemical sensor
  • potentiostat
  • sensor fabrication
  • subthreshold region

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