Development of Novel SAW Devices in CMOS Technology for Biosensor Applications

This paper reports the outline of the research work that yielded a PhD dissertation with contributions to fields of medicine, molecular biology, electrical and computer engineering. It lays out the four major components of research that were motivated by their respective problem definitions. Namely, finite element modeling methodology for design and analysis of surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices in complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology, development and characterization of a novel, CMOS compatible post-processing sequence, application of design novelties for improved SAW performance and development of a biosensor for detecting secreted proteins associated with breast cancer. The biosensor represents a novel device that can be integrated with standard electronics circuits on the same microchip to provide a stand-alone solution. Experimental results show sensitive and selective attachment of a cancer biomarker to functionalized sensor surfaces. The research fulfilled the broad objective to design, model, fabricate, post process and characterize SAW devices in CMOS technology for biosensing applications.