Langmuir, Vol.14, No.2, 547-551, 1998
Membrane-transistor cable
An ionic-electronic system was assembled by coating a linear array of 48 field-effect transistors in silicon with a bimolecular layer of lipid and gramicidin. A thin film of electrolyte (depth similar to 80 mu m) was used as a spacer. A de voltage was applied to one end of the core-coat conductor formed by membrane and electrolyte. The transistors recorded the transmission along the cable. A change of the density of open channels was determined from the change of the voltage profile on the basis of Kelvin's cable equation. The system is the basis for a development of bioelectronic transducers and for the study of nonlinear phenomena in membrane cables.