Integrated vapor-liquid-solid silicon mass sensors (Presentation Recording)

We present the results and progress of research to create a multiplex chemical sensor based on Au catalyzed vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) silicon nanowires deployed as resonant mass sensors. Each element of this sensor has a single VLS wire grown in close proximity to a Si photodiode. Together they create a Fabry-Pérot interferometer that allows for the sensitive detection of the beam’s resonant motion. Small changes in mass on the cantilever that occur as a result of chemical absorption on the functionalized Au surface shift the resonant frequency. Our integrated approach will allow large reductions in system complexity for this sensor class.