Development of Organic Transistor Based Smart, Low-cost and Disposable Chemical and Biological Sensor Devices

拟议的研究计划将在实现低成本，低功耗的有机电子器件，智能，一次性传感微系统，并将有助于有机半导体器件的几个新兴应用领域的重大影响。长期愿景是通过迭代设计和制造过程，明智地选择基于聚合物的材料以及开发将晶体管特性与可检测的感官响应相关联的物理模型，建立有机晶体管微系统的理想配置。近期目标包括：1）对所开发的有机晶体管的电学和机械性能进行数值估算和物理表征; 2）研究用于有机半导体和聚合物基高K纳米复合电介质材料的低成本、直接图案化的最佳微加工技术;以及3）用于有源传感应用的原型有机电化学晶体管（O-ECT）器件的设计、制造和实验验证。重点是将有机晶体管集成在新型单片和混合配置中，用于检测化学分析物和物理变量，用于潜在的化学，生物和环境传感应用。该计划将与行业，非营利合作伙伴以及国家和国际研究团体建立合作关系，重点是将O-ECTs作为化学和生物传感器，在有机半导体实验室共培训2名博士，3名硕士和4名本科生。拟议的研究计划将培训HQP在微/纳米制造和表征，实施共聚物半导体，导体和介电材料的有机电子，开发新的协议，低成本，内部生产的O-ECT，O-ECT设备和由此产生的芯片实验室微系统的表征。该研究计划的动机是加拿大成为世界领先的在这种新兴的智能传感器技术的领导者和研究计划链接以及与省级和联邦在这一领域的开拓性研究的任务。迫切需要HQP在开发智能，自主和低成本的传感设备，这可以促进许多不同构象的物理和化学分析物的连续测量方面的培训。我要求DND/NSERC补充研究计划解决了“先进传感”的目标领域，更具体地说，化学-生物-辐射传感的研究主题。开发的传感器将提供理想的多功能性，可以作为制服上的补丁，在头盔上打印为徽标，并固定在眼镜框架上，用于检测危险化学制剂，以及监测生物标记以进行快速诊断。

The proposed research program will have significant impact in realizing low-cost, low-power organic electronic devices, smart, disposable sensory microsystems, and will contribute to several emerging application domains of organic semiconductor devices. The long-term vision is to establish the ideal configuration of organic transistor microsystems through iterative design and fabrication process, judicious selection of polymer-based materials and the development of a physical model correlating transistor characteristics with detectable sensory responses. The short-term goals encompass: 1) numerical estimation and physical characterization of the electrical and mechanical properties of the developed organic transistors; 2) investigation of optimal microfabrication techniques for low-cost, direct-patterning of organic semiconductors and polymer-based high-K nanocomposite dielectric materials; and 3) design, fabrication and experimental validation of prototype organic electro-chemical transistor (O-ECT) devices for active sensing applications. The emphasis will be to integrate organic-transistors in novel monolithic and hybrid configurations, for detecting chemical analytes and physical variables, for potential chemical, biological and environmental sensing applications. Establishing collaborations with industry, non-profit partners, and national and international research groups, the program will place emphasis on implementing O-ECTs as chemical and biological sensors, training a total of 2 PhD, 3 MASc and 4 undergraduate students at the Organic Semiconductor Lab. The proposed research program will train HQPs in micro/nanofabrication and characterization, implementing copolymer semiconductor, conductor and dielectric materials for organic electronics, developing novel protocols for low-cost, in-house production of O-ECT, characterization of O-ECT devices and resultant lab-on-a-chip microsystems.The research program is motivated by the opportunity for Canada to become a world-leader in such emerging smart sensor technologies and the research program links well with both the provincial and federal mandates of pioneering research in this domain. There is an urgent need for HQP trained in developing smart, autonomous and low-cost sensory devices, which can facilitate continuous measurement of physical and chemical analytes in many different conformations. I am requesting the DND/NSERC supplement as the research program addresses the 'Advanced Sensing' target area, and more specifically the Chemical-Biological-Radiological Sensing' research theme. The developed sensors will offer desirable versatility in form factor, and can be attached as patches on uniforms, printed as logos on helmets, and secured onto eye-wear frames for detection of hazardous chemical agents, as well as monitoring bio-markers for rapid diagnosis.