Recently，Yuelin Wang/ Tie Li group in SIMIT (Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology) and Chunhai Fan group in SIAP (Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics) published their work on ultrasensitive SiNW (Silicon Nanowire)-based DNA sensor in Nano Letters (Nano Lett., 2011, 11 (9), pp 3974–3978, DOI:10.1021/nl202303y). Employing the high selective process in traditional semiconductor technology, they developed a top-down fabrication method to precisely control the SiNW’s size. Not only the narrow width down to 20nm, but the triangle cross section benefit the high surface-to-volume-ratios and cause the high performance of the sensors, which path a way for the ultrasensitive and mass producible SiNW sensor array in the future. After SiNWs were covalently modified with single-molecular-layer and DNA probes, the nanosensor showed ultrahigh sensitivity for rapid and reliable detection of 1 fM of target DNA, which is the highest reported sensitivity for DNA detection in SiNW-FET sensor. The SiNWs demonstrate also high specificity to single-nucleotide polymorphism discrimination and multiplex DNA detection ability.