Advanced Optimization of THz Biosensor for Breast Cancer Detection Through Machine Learning
Abstract
This work presents a highly sensitive and reconfigurable terahertz (THz) biosensor for the detection of breast cancer biomarkers. The device consists of a hybrid graphene-gold THz biosensor patterned on a dielectric substrate, providing strong plasmonic field confinement and tunable resonance characteristics. To optimize its optical response, a support vector machine (SVM) regression model was employed to capture the nonlinear interaction among graphene’s chemical potential, relaxation time, and temperature. The optimized structure achieves excellent sensing performance, with sensitivities of 137.2 GHz/RIU for normal epithelium (NE), 193.7 GHz/RIU for CA15-3, 241.6 GHz/RIU for CA27-29, and 311.5 GHz/RIU for HER2, along with a quality factor (Q-Factor) of 6.66 and a figure of merit (FOM) of 636.7 RIU−1. Combining tunability, compactness, and machine-learning-based optimization, the proposed hybrid graphene-gold THz biosensor demonstrates great promise for real-time, label-free, and precise breast cancer diagnostics.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Terahertz technology and applications
AI in cancer detection
Superconducting and THz Device Technology
Publication details
- Journal / source
- IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science
- Publisher
- Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
- Volume
- 54
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 1750–1761
- Publication date
- 27 March 2026