Post doc Materials characterization and optimization for integrated ISFETs and chemFETs (CSC2021-046)

Project description

Please note that this project is in the framework of Chinese Scholarship Counsel (CSC)-IMEC-KU Leuven Scholarships. Please read the requirements before applying here.

Sensing technologies play a key role in life sciences, from bioprocessing to health care. Using semiconductor technology, Imec envisions to shrink all lab functionalities needed to perform this monitoring into miniaturized devices, often in a highly parallel or multiparameter manner. Measured parameters span a wide range, from e.g. electrical interactions with neurons, to physical parameters such as temperature and bioimpedance, or biochemical markers such as proteins, metabolites, and DNA. In this postdoc position you will help us expand our technology portfolio with on-chip ion sensing. pH and other ions can be sensed in a CMOS-compatible technology using ion sensitive FETs (ISFETs) or extended gate FETs (EGFETs). The ion sensitive materials deposited on the gate of the ISFET or EGFET are key to the correct operation of these devices. They provide the sensitivity and selectivity to the ions of interest, but can also be the cause of drift and degradation. Whereas commercial offthe- shelf ion sensors often use external sensing electrodes, our sensing electrodes need to be fabricated on wafer scale, as part of the CMOS fabrication process, eventually paving the way for fully monolithically integrated sensing electrodes and readout electronics. Your focus will be on the materials selection, characterization and optimization for these electrodes, with particular attention to the analysis of defect and degradation mechanisms that are involved in aspects such as drift, offset, stability, and reproducibility. We envisage large arrays of such electrodes and eventual monolithic integration with readout electronics. In close collaboration with the device physics, circuit design, and process technology teams you will develop robust solutions that can be integrated in Imec’s application portfolio.

Daily advisor: Koen Martens (imec)

Manager: Pol Van Dorpe (imec)

Required background: Material Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Surface and Interface Science

Type of work: 70% experimental – 20% data analysis – 10% literature

Please note that this project is in the framework of Chinese Scholarship Counsel (CSC)-IMEC-KU Leuven Scholarships. Please read the requirements before applying here.