Neurons cultured directly over open-gate field-effect transistors result in a hybrid device, the neuron-FET. Neuron-FET\r\namplifier circuits reported in the literature employ the neuron-FET transducer as a current-mode device in conjunction with\r\na transimpedance amplifier. In this configuration, the transducer does not provide any signal gain, and characterization of the\r\ntransducer out of the amplification circuit is required. Furthermore, the circuit requires a complex biasing scheme that must\r\nbe retuned to compensate for drift. Here we present an alternative strategy based on the gm/Id design approach to optimize a\r\nsingle-stage common-source amplifier design. The gm/Id design approach facilitates in circuit characterization of the neuron-\r\nFET and provides insight into approaches to improving the transistor process design for application as a neuron-FET transducer.\r\nSimulation data for a test case demonstrates optimization of the transistor design and significant increase in gain over a current\r\nmode implementation.
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