Design of an Addressable Internetworked Microscale Sensor

The use of nanoscale structures in sensing applications has been heavily investigated in recent years, with many significant breakthroughs that suggest a bright future for the technology. Silicon nanowires have received particular attention for their use as sense elements because of their large surface area-to-volume ratios and ability to be chemically altered to facilitate the binding of chemical or biological agents. The binding of these agents induces a conductance change in the wire, which can be monitored to detect the presence of trace amounts of an agent in a sample.