Label-free detection of breast cancer cell lines using dopingless heterojunction TFET considering non-ideal hybridization issue

Early-stage diagnosis of breast cancer is critical for effective treatment and the best potential survival rates. Biosensors have evolved as a smart screening tool for identifying biomarkers associated with breast cancer initiation, progression, and treatment. In this work, a dielectric modulated dopingless dual metal gate heterojunction Tunnel Field Effect Transistor (DM-DL-DMG-HJTFET) is proposed for the detection of breast cancer cell lines which has a nanogap beneath the gate electrode towards source side where the breast cells will be immobilized. Healthy and cancerous breast cells are reported to possess different dielectric properties which result in different conductivity and hence can help in early breast cancer detection. The proposed biosensor is simulated using SILVACO ATLAS TCAD tool and the calibrated results are used for the in-depth analysis of energy band diagram, electric field, and surface potential. Practical functionality is studied by incorporating different cases of partially and non -uniformly filled cavity along with mixed cell proportions in the cavity. Sensitivity of the proposed biosensor has been found in terms of drain current, threshold voltage, transconductance, and I-ON/I-OFF ratio. The proposed structure offers significant improvement in the sensitivity as seen from the comparative performance analysis and hence can be used to establish a point -of -care (POC) diagnosis setting.