التفاصيل البيبلوغرافية
| العنوان: |
METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR MEASURING ANALYTES |
| Document Number: |
20100301398 |
| تاريخ النشر: |
December 2, 2010 |
| Appl. No: |
12/475311 |
| Application Filed: |
May 29, 2009 |
| مستخلص: |
Methods and apparatus relating to FET arrays including large FET arrays for monitoring chemical and/or biological reactions such as nucleic acid sequencing-by-synthesis reactions. Some methods provided herein relate to improving signal (and also signal to noise ratio) from released hydrogen ions during nucleic acid sequencing reactions. |
| Inventors: |
Rothberg, Jonathan M. (Guilford, CT, US); Bustillo, James M. (Castro Valley, CA, US); Milgrew, Mark J. (Branford, CT, US); Schultz, Jonathan C. (Oxford, MA, US); Marran, David (Durham, CT, US); Rearick, Todd M. (Cheshire, CT, US); Johnson, Kim L. (Carlsbad, CA, US) |
| Assignees: |
Ion Torrent Systems Incorporated (Guilford, CT, US) |
| Claim: |
1. An apparatus, comprising: an array of sensors, each sensor comprising one chemically-sensitive field effect transistor (chemFET), said chemFET having a floating gate structure; a layer of first material disposed over the sensor array and having formed therein a plurality of microwells, each microwell forming a cavity disposed over at least one of the chemFETS for receiving fluid analyte therein; and a layer of protection material on said floating gate structure to separate the material of the floating gate from the analyte, wherein the layer of protection material has a thickness over the floating gate structure of up to about 600 Angstroms. |
| Claim: |
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the layer of protection material has a thickness over the floating gate of up to about 400 Angstroms. |
| Claim: |
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the chemFETs are CMOS devices, and the protective layer of material comprises one or more layers of a CMOS passivation material. |
| Claim: |
4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein at least one layer of said passivation material is a metal oxide or metal nitride. |
| Claim: |
5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the metal oxide or metal nitride is selected from among the group consisting of Al2O3, SiO2, Si3N4, Al2O3, Ta2O5, HfO3, WO3, and a super-Nernstian material. |
| Claim: |
6. (canceled) |
| Claim: |
7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the layer of first material and the layer of protection material comprise a single layer of material which has a thickness in areas not over the floating gate structures sufficient to form the microwells over the floating gate structures. |
| Claim: |
8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the chemFETs are CMOS devices and the single layer of material comprises a CMOS process passivation material which is up to about 600 Angstroms thick over the floating gate structure and forms microwells at least about 1 μm deep. |
| Claim: |
9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the protection layer also covers the sidewalls of the microwells. |
| Claim: |
10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the protection layer has a pKa value that is closer to the analyte pH conditions than is the pKa value of the first material. |
| Claim: |
11. (canceled) |
| Claim: |
12. A method of forming an array of chemically-sensitive field effect transistors (chemFETs), each said chemFET having a floating gate structure, with a corresponding array of microwells disposed over the floating gate structures, each microwell forming a cavity disposed over the floating gate structure of at least one of the chemFETs for receiving fluid analyte therein, said method comprising: a. providing an array of chemFETs in a semiconductor substrate, the floating gate structures of the chemFETs being covered by a layer of protection material; b. depositing a layer of material over the protection material and removing portions of said material over the floating gate structures to form said microwells therein; and c. removing, if necessary, a portion of said layer of protection material so that a thickness of protection material of no more than about 600 Angstroms remains. |
| Claim: |
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the chemFETs are CMOS devices, and the layer of protection material comprises one or more layers of a CMOS passivation material. |
| Claim: |
14. The method of claim 13, wherein at least one layer of said passivation material is a metal oxide or metal nitride. |
| Claim: |
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the metal oxide or metal nitride is selected from among the group consisting of Al2O3, SiO2, Si3N4, Al2O3, Ta2O5, HfO3, WO3, and a super-Nernstian material. |
| Claim: |
16. (canceled) |
| Claim: |
17. The method of claim 12, wherein the layer of first material and the layer of protection material comprise a single layer of material which has a thickness in areas not over the floating gate structures sufficient to form the microwells over the floating gate structures. |
| Claim: |
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the chemFETs are CMOS devices and the single layer of material comprises a CMOS process passivation material which is up to about 600 Angstroms thick over the floating gate structure and forms microwells at least about 1 μm deep. |
| Claim: |
19. A method of forming an array of chemically-sensitive field effect transistors (chemFETs), each said chemFET having a floating gate structure, with a corresponding array of microwells disposed over the floating gate structures, each microwell forming a cavity disposed over the floating gate structure of at least one of the chemFETs for receiving fluid analyte therein, said method comprising: a. providing an array of chemFETs in a semiconductor substrate, the floating gate structures of the chemFETs being covered by a layer of protection material; b. substantially completely removing the protection material over the floating gate structures to form cavities in the protection material over the floating gate structures; and c. depositing on the floating gate structures and sidewalls of said cavities a thin layer of a relatively high dielectric constant material and to a thickness of no more than about 600 Angstroms. |
| Claim: |
20. (canceled) |
| Claim: |
21. The method of claim 19, wherein the high dielectric constant material is a metal oxide or metal nitride. |
| Claim: |
22. The method of claim 19, wherein the metal oxide or metal nitride is selected from among the group consisting of Al2O3, SiO2, Si3N4, Al2O3, Ta2O5, HfO3, WO3, and a super-Nernstian material. |
| Claim: |
23. (canceled) |
| Claim: |
24. The method of claim 19 wherein depositing a thin layer of relatively high dielectric constant material further comprises depositing alternating layers of two materials, a first material exhibiting superior adhesion to the cavity walls than a second material which has a pKa value that is closer to the analyte pH conditions than is the pKa value of the first material. |
| Claim: |
25. The method of claim 24, wherein the first material is Al2O3 and the second material is Ta2O5 and each of the alternating layers is about 10-20 Angstroms thick to a total thickness of up to about 600 Angstroms. |
| Claim: |
26. The method of claim 19 wherein depositing a thin layer of relatively high dielectric constant material further comprises depositing a first, very thin, layer of a material which adheres well to the walls of the cavities and a second, thicker layer of another material which has a pKa value that is close to the analyte pH conditions. |
| Claim: |
27. (canceled) |
| Current U.S. Class: |
257/253 |
| Current International Class: |
01; 01 |
| رقم الانضمام: |
edspap.20100301398 |
| قاعدة البيانات: |
USPTO Patent Applications |