A light-addressable potentiometric sensor (LAPS) was developed for the image detection of multilayer yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. By modifying silicon-on-sapphire (SOS) with a monolayer of 1,8-nonadiyne, an inert LAPS substrate, insensitive to pH was obtained. Low gelling temperature agarose gel was shown to be an effective immobilization reagent for yeast cells in LAPS measurements without causing a background signal. The photocurrent images obtained were shown to be induced by the surface negative charge and the local impedance of the yeast cells.