Sequencing DNA 1000x faster at 1/10th the cost with FENT, a novel 3D CMOS transistor with nanopores

Conventional complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) field effect transistors (FET) that power processor and memory chips are linear devices in the horizontal plane. We invented a new kind of vertical 3D transistor that has a nanopore (nano-hole) at its center. The novel CMOS nanopore technology is termed Field Effect Nanopore Transistor (FENT), conceived for the sole purpose of sequencing biopolymers such as DNA, RNA and proteins. FENT is an integration of proven ultra-fast and ultra-sensitive CMOS nanowire transistor sensing technology with nanopore DNA sequencing approach. State of art nanopore platforms such as Oxford Nanopore, Roche-Genia, Illumina-MSPA and solid state nanopores like silicon-nitride, graphene use ion current sensing, which limits sequencing speed to ~1000 bases per second, per pore. Electrons in FENT transistor silicon-channel behave as wave-particles and have a mobility on the order of 1000 cm2/ (V·s), which makes them around million times faster than ions in solution. We have demonstrated FENT operational frequency over 100MHz (>1000x faster than Oxford Nanopore). This proves that we have ability to sense events at nanopore at 100 million samples per second, needed to sequence DNA without slowing down. First gen FENT chips are projected to have speed of ~100 mega bases per second, per cm2, ultimately reaching >10 giga-bases per second, per cm2. We have demonstrated electron-current sensing of pyridine molecules (smaller than DNA bases) with ultra-high sensitivity and high detection specificity (ability to discriminate). FENT prototypes exhibit textbook transistor electrical characteristics with on-current to off-current ratio > 1e6, even with nanopore incorporated at the center. We have tested and proven that FENT transistor electron-current can sense DNA passing through nanopore with high sensitivity. Once fully developed, FENT sequencer chip manufacturing can be rapidly scaled at established semiconductor foundries like Global, Intel and TSMC, to supply (disposable) FENT chip volumes needed for sequencing over 100 million to billion whole genomes per month. This will revolutionize all areas of genomic research, synthetic biology, sequencing based clinical diagnostics, precision medicine and point-of-care testing.