Novel potassium ion selective electrodes (K^+ISEs) and cDNA array sensors based on porous silicon (PS) have been developed.The calibration curve for the K^+ISEs is linear within a wide range of pK=2.0~6.0 with the slope of 56 mV per decade,which is near Nernst response.The response time and detection limit are within 31 s and 0.5μmol/L,respectively.The selective coefficient for Na^+ is-3.8,satisfies the requirement for the assay of blood potassium.The response variation is within 2 mV during 2 months.The binding capacity,the dynamic range and the detection limit of the DNA sensors were improved by replacing glass slide with PS substrates.The cDNA array sensors can bear 80℃of high temperature,75% of humidity,3.6 kLx of irradiation and keep stable within 10 days when they are exposed in air.Good performances of the K^+ISE and the cDNA array sensor are attributed to the large internal surface area and the easily modified microstructure of PS.
The silicon nano-crystalline (nc-Si) film is fabricated on <100> orientation,0.01Ω·cm resistivity,and p-type boron-doped silicon wafer by the anodic etching.The microstructure and the orientation of nc-Si are examined by the scanning electron microscopy,transmission electron microscopy,and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy,respectively.The average size of particle is estimated by Raman spectroscopy.The results show that the particle size of nc-Si film is scattered from 10nm to 20nm,the alignment is compact,the orientation is uniform,the expansion of lattice constant is negligible,and mechanical robustness and stability are good.The correlations between film structure and the experiment parameters such as etching time,HF concentration,and etching current density are discussed.As a potential application,efficient field emission is observed from the nc-Si film,and the turn-on field is about 3V/μm at 0.1μA/cm 2 of current density,which is close to carbon nanotube film's.