16.5 A NEMS-array control IC for sub-attogram gravimetric sensing applications in 28nm CMOS technology

Abstract

Progress in silicon technology has promoted NEMS sensors as viable and highly sensitive candidates for gravimetric applications such as gas sensing, mass spectrometry and biochemical analysis [1]. The high sensitivity to mass is related to the small dimensions and intrinsic mass of the NEMS themselves, which results in resonant frequencies in the 10MHz-to-1GHz range and drive voltages reaching 1V to 10V. Such a combination of frequencies and voltages is a challenge for the driving electronics. Although several promising approaches using NEMS/CMOS co-integration have been recently published [2], many experiments in the field are currently using discrete electronic boards and specialized lab instruments. To respond to size, power and cost demands, an IC implementing the most critical parts of the full system is described hereafter.