Control Circuits for Potentiostatic/Galvanostatic Polarization and Simultaneous Chemical Sensing by a Light-Addressable Potentiometric Sensor

A light-addressable potentiometric sensor (LAPS) is a semiconductor-based sensor platform for sensing and imaging of various chemical species. Being a potentiometric sensor, no faradaic current flows through its sensing surface, and no electrochemical reaction takes place in the course of LAPS measurement. In this study, a four-electrode system is proposed, in which a LAPS is combined with the conventional three-electrode electrochemical system. A LAPS is included as the fourth electrode for potentiometric sensing and imaging of the target analyte in the course of an electrochemical reaction taking place on the surface of the working electrode. The integrated system will be useful for analyzing dynamic processes, where both the electrochemical process on the electrode surface and the ion distribution in the solution need to be simultaneously investigated. Different grounding modes of control circuits that can simultaneously conduct potentiostatic/galvanostatic polarization and LAPS measurement are designed, and their functionalities are tested. The interference between polarization and LAPS measurement will also be discussed.