Design and microfabrication of a lateral excited gallium arsenide biosensor

FEMTO-ST Institute, 32 Avenue de l’Observatoire, 25044 Besançon Cedex, France

^a e-mail: therese.leblois@femto-st.fr

Received: 15 March 2011
Revised: 12 October 2011
Accepted: 21 November 2011
Published online: 23 December 2011

Abstract

GaAs crystal presents some interesting perspectives for resonant biosensors due to its piezoelectric and good mechanical properties and the opportunity to bio-functionalize the surface. Moreover, GaAs can be micromachined by wet etching in several solutions, which constitutes a batch and low-cost process of fabrication. The lateral field excitation (LFE) is used to generate bulk acoustic waves. The main advantage of LFE is the possibility to measure in liquid media, moreover reduced aging and increased frequency stability are also ensured. In this study, an analytical modelization is used to determine the orientations of the vibrating membrane and the electric field that give satisfactory metrological performances. Electrical performances are discussed as a function of geometrical parameters. A simulation based on a Finite Element Modelization is performed in order to optimize the design of the resonant structure. The microfabrication process of the structure is presented. The choice of etchants is discussed in terms of etching rates and surface textures. Several steps of the fabrication of the sensing area structure are shown and characterized. Finally, the active area is fabricated according to the theoretical and experimental results of this study.