Titanium Nitride Nanopore Electrodes for Scalable Sequencing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current nanopore-based sequencing chips face challenges with measurement inaccuracies due to operational amplifier offset and noise, and scaling issues arise as the number of cells increases, leading to significant space occupation and performance degradation.
Innovation Solution
The use of a nanopore-based sequencing system with a titanium nitride (TiN) working electrode and counter electrode, featuring a spongy and porous structure with increased electrochemical capacitance, and a circuitry design that eliminates the need for operational amplifiers by allowing voltage decay over time, facilitating bidirectional measurements and reducing chip size.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If operational amplifiers are used in nanopore cell circuitry, then signal amplification is achieved, but offset and noise cause measurement inaccuracies
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes operational amplifiers from the nanopore cell circuitry, extracting the source of offset and noise errors. By eliminating these components, the system achieves accurate measurements without requiring signal amplification, using instead direct voltage decay measurement across the nanopore.
Solution Approach 2:
The nanopore cell is designed to measure voltage decay directly without external amplification. The system uses the inherent electrical properties of the nanopore and electrolyte to provide measurable signals that do not require operational amplifier intervention, making the system self-sufficient and free from amplifier-induced errors.
2Productivity
If the number of nanopore cells is increased for higher throughput, then sequencing capacity improves, but space occupation and performance degradation increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the electrical parameters of the nanopore cell by eliminating operational amplifiers and using direct voltage decay measurement. This parameter change reduces the circuit complexity and space requirements per cell, enabling higher cell density on the chip while maintaining performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The simplified circuit design without operational amplifiers creates a universal cell structure that can be replicated densely across the chip. Each nanopore cell uses the same straightforward voltage measurement approach, allowing for uniform scaling to millions of cells without performance degradation.
3Reliability
If titanium nitride is used as counter electrode material, then electrochemical capacitance increases, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses porous titanium nitride as the counter electrode material. The porous structure provides high electrochemical capacitance and surface area while maintaining compatibility with standard sputtering deposition processes. The porosity is achieved through controlled deposition parameters rather than complex post-processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The counter electrode is formed as a composite structure with titanium nitride deposited on a conductive base material. This composite approach combines the high capacitance properties of titanium nitride with the electrical conductivity and structural integrity of the base material, achieving both performance and manufacturability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enhances measurement stability, minimizes spurious signals, and allows for the scaling of nanopore-based sequencing chips to include millions of cells without performance degradation, while maintaining accurate and efficient DNA sequencing.
Implementation Method 1
the working electrode may have an electrochemical capacitance that is ten to a thousand times that of an electrochemical capacitance of a flat TiN working electrode with substantially identical dimensions
Implementation Method 2
The counter electrode may include a base material that has been sputtered with titanium nitride
Data Source
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AI summary
A nanopore cell includes a titanium nitride (TiN) counter electrode configured to be at a first electric potential. The nanopore cell also include a working electrode configured to be at a second electric potential and an insulating wall. The insulating wall and the working electrode form at least a portion of a well configured to contain an electrolyte at a voltage that is at least a portion of an electric potential difference between the first electric potential of the titanium nitride counter electrode and the second electric potential of the working electrode.