The dual role of Parylene C in chemical sensing: Acting as an encapsulant and as a sensing membrane for pH monitoring applications
File(s)Trantidou, et al. Sensors and actuators B.pdf (379.83 KB)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
In this work, we demonstrate a new property of Parylene C emphasizing on its application in pH sensing technologies. For many decades the material has been extensively used as a biocompatible inert encapsulant of implantable micro-devices. Toward a new understanding of the material's potential, we explore the transformation of Parylene C from a passive encapsulation membrane into an active H+ sensing membrane using discrete MOSFETs to evaluate its chemical sensing performance. We employ oxygen plasma treatment to functionalize Parylene's H+ sensing capacity and enhance the chemical sensitivity, drift rates, and reliability of the sensing devices. Moreover, we demonstrate a versatile technique that enables the deployment of the material both as an encapsulant and as a sensing membrane in a single platform, in order to benefit from distinguishable and consistent sensitivities, and low leakage currents during pH measurements. Our investigation reveals that the selective modification of Parylene's surface chemistry yields reliable pH sensing devices, ensuring the best combination of sensitivity (16.3 mV/pH) and leakage currents (6–10 nA) over a reasonably wide pH range (4–10), while drift rates remain in low levels (2.5–20 mV/h). We believe that this study opens up new application horizons for Parylene, which is a new promising material in the emerging field of flexible electronics able to deliver low film thicknesses and high biocompatibility, while facilitating the application of mechanical stimulus.
Date Issued
2013-09-01
Date Acceptance
2013-05-21
Citation
Sensors and Actuators B - Chemical, 2013, 186, pp.1-8
ISSN
0925-4005
Publisher
Elsevier
Start Page
1
End Page
8
Journal / Book Title
Sensors and Actuators B - Chemical
Volume
186
Copyright Statement
© 2013, Elsevier. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Subjects
Science & Technology
Physical Sciences
Technology
Chemistry, Analytical
Electrochemistry
Instruments & Instrumentation
Chemistry
CHEMISTRY, ANALYTICAL
ELECTROCHEMISTRY
INSTRUMENTS & INSTRUMENTATION
Parylene C
Chemical sensing membrane
pH monitoring
Oxygen plasma
Extended gate
Discrete MOSFETs
ISFET
FILMS
Publication Status
Published