Improved silicon nitride surfaces for next-generation microarrays.
This work reports how the use of a standard integrated circuit (IC) fabrication process can improve the potential of silicon nitride layers as substrates for microarray technology. It has been shown that chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) substantially improves the fluorescent intensity of positive control gene and test gene microarray spots on both low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) and plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) silicon nitride films, while maintaining a low fluorescent background. This results in the improved discrimination of low expressing genes. The results for the PECVD silicon nitride, which has been previously reported as unsuitable for microarray spotting, are particularly significant for future devices that hope to incorporate microelectronic control and analysis circuitry, due to the film's use as a final passivating layer.
Terry
Jonathan G
JG
Institute for Integrated Micro and Nano Systems, University of Edinburgh, Scottish Microelectronics Centre, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JF, UK. Jon.Terry@ed.ac.uk
Campbell
Colin J
CJ
Ross
Alan J
AJ
Livingston
Andrew D
AD
Buck
Amy H
AH
Dickinson
Paul
P
Mountford
Christopher P
CP
Evans
Stuart A G
SA
Mount
Andrew R
AR
Beattie
John S
JS
Crain
Jason
J
Ghazal
Peter
P
Walton
Anthony J
AJ
D005453:Fluorescence; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis / Q000379:methods; D017655:Silicon Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*
D017655:Silicon Compounds; C032734:silicon nitride