A Solution-Gated Graphene FET Receiver for Molecular Communications with Low-Frequency PSD- and Derivative-Based Detection

A Solution-Gated Graphene FET Receiver for Molecular Communications with Low-Frequency PSD- and Derivative-Based Detection | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article A Solution-Gated Graphene FET Receiver for Molecular Communications with Low-Frequency PSD- and Derivative-Based Detection Ali Abdali, Maryam Kahvazi Zadeh, Iman Mokari Bolhassan, Yansha Deng, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9271375/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Molecular communication (MC) is the exchange of information via signaling molecules, forming the backbone of biological networks and underpinning the development of the Internet of Bio-Nano Things (IoBNT). A critical challenge in engineering MC systems is the reliable detection of molecular signals in realistic environments, where slow diffusion, reaction noise, and memory effects in the channel not only cause intersymbol interference (ISI) but also lead to low signal-to-noise ratios, baseline drifts, and saturation of ligand–receptor interfaces. Conventional detection methods relying on equilibrium measurements are often too slow to capture dynamic concentration changes that encode the information and are vulnerable to ISI and receptor saturation. To evaluate dynamic detection strategies under these conditions on a practical electronic receiver, we require a device that operates directly in electrolyte, supports specific ligand–receptor binding, and can be integrated with controlled microfluidic flow. In this study, we experimentally implement and systematically compare two dynamic detection strategies, i.e., Derivative-Based Detection (DD) and Frequency-Domain Detection (FD), using an integrated microfluidic testbed featuring a GFET-based MC receiver. The GFET, functionalized with single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) probes for selectively capturing complementary, information-carrying target ssDNA molecules, transduces hybridization events into electrical signals in real time. We characterize the receiver's response and evaluate the performance of DD and FD against a conventional Difference-Based Detection (BD) benchmark across various communication scenarios with different flow rates and data rates. Our results demonstrate that DD and FD significantly outperform BD, particularly in high-ISI regimes. DD achieves superior detection performance when the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is high and temporal transitions are sharp, offering rapid pre-equilibrium detection. Conversely, FD, which analyzes the power spectral density (PSD) of binding‑induced current fluctuations, maintains superior robustness in low‑SNR and high‑ISI regimes where time‑domain signatures cannot be reliably resolved. This work provides the first experimental validation of DD and FD for GFET-based MC receivers, enabling a practical pathway toward reliable MC in complex, physiologically relevant environments. Physical sciences/Engineering/Electrical and electronic engineering Physical sciences/Nanoscience and technology/Graphene/Electronic properties and devices Physical sciences/Nanoscience and technology/Nanoscale devices/Biosensors Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files Supplementary.pdf Supplementary Information for A Solution-Gated Graphene FET Receiver for Molecular Communications with Low-Frequency PSD and Derivative-Based Detection Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9271375","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":615973249,"identity":"44fa7cbc-e3b6-4b79-8cdc-f558bd4e4f90","order_by":0,"name":"Ali Abdali","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"King's College London","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ali","middleName":"","lastName":"Abdali","suffix":""},{"id":615973250,"identity":"930c1ecb-1eb8-45d6-81d8-19eb506d1dd8","order_by":1,"name":"Maryam Kahvazi Zadeh","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Koc 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A critical challenge in engineering MC systems is the reliable detection of molecular signals in realistic environments, where slow diffusion, reaction noise, and memory effects in the channel not only cause intersymbol interference (ISI) but also lead to low signal-to-noise ratios, baseline drifts, and saturation of ligand–receptor interfaces. Conventional detection methods relying on equilibrium measurements are often too slow to capture dynamic concentration changes that encode the information and are vulnerable to ISI and receptor saturation. To evaluate dynamic detection strategies under these conditions on a practical electronic receiver, we require a device that operates directly in electrolyte, supports specific ligand–receptor binding, and can be integrated with controlled microfluidic flow. In this study, we experimentally implement and systematically compare two dynamic detection strategies, i.e., Derivative-Based Detection (DD) and Frequency-Domain Detection (FD), using an integrated microfluidic testbed featuring a GFET-based MC receiver. The GFET, functionalized with single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) probes for selectively capturing complementary, information-carrying target ssDNA molecules, transduces hybridization events into electrical signals in real time. We characterize the receiver's response and evaluate the performance of DD and FD against a conventional Difference-Based Detection (BD) benchmark across various communication scenarios with different flow rates and data rates. Our results demonstrate that DD and FD significantly outperform BD, particularly in high-ISI regimes. DD achieves superior detection performance when the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is high and temporal transitions are sharp, offering rapid pre-equilibrium detection. Conversely, FD, which analyzes the power spectral density (PSD) of binding‑induced current fluctuations, maintains superior robustness in low‑SNR and high‑ISI regimes where time‑domain signatures cannot be reliably resolved. This work provides the first experimental validation of DD and FD for GFET-based MC receivers, enabling a practical pathway toward reliable MC in complex, physiologically relevant environments.","manuscriptTitle":"A Solution-Gated Graphene FET Receiver for Molecular Communications with Low-Frequency PSD- and Derivative-Based Detection","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-04-02 10:04:56","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9271375/v1","editorialEvents":[],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"communications-engineering","isNatureJournal":true,"hasQc":false,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"commseng","sideBox":"Learn more about [Communications Engineering](http://link.springer.com/journal/44172)","snPcode":"44172","submissionUrl":"https://mts-commseng.nature.com/cgi-bin/main.plex","title":"Communications Engineering","twitterHandle":"@commseng","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"ejp","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"6c39d5ef-43b9-481f-a1d8-4669e361de5b","owner":[],"postedDate":"April 2nd, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[{"id":65548048,"name":"Physical sciences/Engineering/Electrical and electronic engineering"},{"id":65548049,"name":"Physical sciences/Nanoscience and technology/Graphene/Electronic properties and devices"},{"id":65548050,"name":"Physical sciences/Nanoscience and technology/Nanoscale devices/Biosensors"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-06T13:05:51+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-04-02 10:04:56","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9271375","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9271375","identity":"rs-9271375","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}