Toward High Throughput Core-CBCM CMOS Capacitive Sensors for Life Science Applications: A Novel Current-Mode for High Dynamic Range Circuitry

Abstract

This paper proposes a novel charge-based Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) capacitive sensor for life science applications. Charge-based capacitance measurement (CBCM) has significantly attracted the attention of researchers for the design and implementation of high-precision CMOS capacitive biosensors. A conventional core-CBCM capacitive sensor consists of a capacitance-to-voltage converter (CVC), followed by a voltage-to-digital converter. In spite of their high accuracy and low complexity, their input dynamic range (IDR) limits the advantages of core-CBCM capacitive sensors for most biological applications, including cellular monitoring. In this paper, after a brief review of core-CBCM capacitive sensors, we address this challenge by proposing a new current-mode core-CBCM design. In this design, we combine CBCM and current-controlled oscillator (CCO) structures to improve the IDR of the capacitive readout circuit. Using a 0.18 μm CMOS process, we demonstrate and discuss the Cadence simulation results to demonstrate the high performance of the proposed circuitry. Based on these results, the proposed circuit offers an IDR ranging from 873 aF to 70 fF with a resolution of about 10 aF. This CMOS capacitive sensor with such a wide IDR can be employed for monitoring cellular and molecular activities that are suitable for biological research and clinical purposes.