Development of the Ion Torrent CMOS chip for DNA sequencing

Abstract

We describe a novel CMOS mixed signal sensor array chip that performs massively parallel DNA sequencing. This technology, in the form of a single-use, disposable chip, is the functional core of the Ion Torrent DNA sequencing platform. This is the first CMOS device capable of performing DNA sequencing, and the use of scalable CMOS chip architecture allows up to 1 billion simultaneous sequencing reactions to be performed on-chip. This enables the “$1000 Genome”, a long sought performance milestone for the rapidly emerging field of Genomic Personalized Medicine.