Chemical-sensitive graphene modulator with a memory effect for internet-of-things applications

摘要

A graphene-based transistor that detects chemical agents and lengths of exposure could make 24-hour healthcare easier to achieve. Embedding wireless sensors into devices such as infection monitors is an important part of Internet-of-Things applications. But nanomaterials that are well suited to sensing environmental particles are difficult to integrate into conventional silicon circuits. Haiyu Huang from the University of Texas at Austin in the United States, Pai-Yen Chen from the Wayne State University in the United States and their colleagues —show that graphene field-effect transistors can offer simultaneous radio-frequency modulation, chemical sensing and memory effects in a single component. The team’s large-area, back-gated device demonstrates distinct shifts in voltage when introduced to reducing or oxidizing chemical gases, or to more complex substances such as protein biomarkers. These molecular-induced shifts in transistor operation also depend on earlier chemical exposures — an electrochemical history not retained by typical semiconductors.