Modeling and analysis of SiNW BioFET as molecular antenna for bio-cyber interfaces towards the internet of bio-nanothings

Abstract

Seamless connection of molecular nanonetworks to macroscale cyber networks is envisioned to enable the Internet of Bio-NanoThings, which promises for cutting-edge applications, especially in the medical domain. The connection requires the development of an interface between the biochemical domain of molecular nanonetworks and the electrical domain of conventional electromagnetic networks. To this aim, in this paper, we propose to exploit field effect transistor based biosensors (bioFETs) to devise a molecular antenna capable of transducing molecular messages into electrical signals. In particular, focusing on the use of SiNW FET-based biosensors as molecular antennas, we develop deterministic and noise models for the antenna operation to provide a theoretical framework for the optimization of the device from communication perspective. We numerically evaluate the performance of the antenna in terms of the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) at the electrical output.