In this paper, the electronic transduction of DNA hybridization is presented by coupling organic charge-modulated field-effect transistors (OCMFETs) and hairpin-shaped probes. These probes have shown interesting properties in terms of sensitivity and selectivity in other kinds of assays, in the form of molecular beacons (MBs). Their integration with organic-transistor based sensors, never explored before, paves the way to a new class of low-cost, easy-to-use, and portable genetic sensors with enhanced performances. Thanks to the peculiar characteristics of the employed sensor, measurements can be performed at relatively high ionic strengths, thus optimizing the probes’ functionality without affecting the detection ability of the device. A complete electrical characterization of the sensor is reported, including calibration with different target concentrations in the measurement environment and selectivity evaluation. In particular, DNA hybridization detection for target concentration as low as 100 pM is demonstrated.

A front-end ASIC for 4D tracking is presented. The prototype includes the block necessary to build a pixel front-end chain for timing measurement, as independent circuits. The architecture includes a charge-sensitive amplifier, a discriminator with programmable threshold, and a timeto-digital converter. The blocks were designed with target specifications in mind including: an area occupation of 55 µm × 55 µm, a power consumption tens of micro ampere per channel and timing a resolution of at least 100 ps. The prototype has been designed and integrated in 28 nm CMOS technology. The presented design is part of the TimeSpOT project which aims to reach a high-resolution particle tracking both in space and in time, in order to provide front-end circuitry suitable for next generation colliders.

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