Breast Cancer and Prostate Cancer Detection Considering Transconductance Generation Factor (gm/IDS) as a Sensing Metric for III–V Gate-All-Around Tunnel FET Biosensor

This article presents a III–V gate-all-around tunnel field-effect transistor (GAA TFET)-based label-free biosensor for the detection of breast cancer (BCa) and prostate cancer (PCa) in females and males. The highly sensitive region of the TFET device has been targeted for sensing the bioanalytes (BAs). The biomarkers considered for detection are a clinically relevant concentration of c-erbB-2 for BCa and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) for PCa serum. Since the subthreshold region is highly sensitive to any minor changes in serum concentrations; therefore, this article aims to utilize the subthreshold region of the device for BAs sensing. The transconductance generation factor (
${g}_{m}/{I}_{\text {DS}}$
) has been chosen as the sensing metric as it encompasses the low bias region (linear region) of the device, which consumes low power for BAs detection. The validity of
${g}_{m}/{I}_{\text {DS}}$
as a sensing approach has been confirmed through various figures-of-merits (FoMs), including space charge, bandgap fluctuations, lateral electric field, depletion capacitances, and transfer characteristics of the device. The feasibility of the
${g}_{m}/{I}_{\text {DS}}$
-based sensing approach has been demonstrated by qualitative analysis, specifically by varying the cavity lengths of the device. Numerical analysis using a charge deduction-based methodology has been employed, and the results align with the theoretical understanding of the device for both healthy and diseased males and females.