Toward Versatile CMOS Capacitive Sensors for Cellular Monitoring

CMOS capacitive sensors have shown to be efficient label-free alternatives for optical methods in life-science applications. Their applicability to cellular monitoring for drug discovery has recently gained attraction. Solutions in the literature are typically customized for and tested by specific types of cells. This paper presents circuits and preliminary results on a versatile CMOS capacitive sensor for cellular monitoring. A new circuit and testbench is demonstrated that enjoys high linearity and achieves more than two times higher dynamic range compared to the state-of-the-art. In addition, adjustable sensitivity allows achieving higher sensitivity than reported in the literature. Results are obtained based on the implementation of the circuits in TSMC 0.18 µm technology.