Fabrication of Sub-5 nm Nanochannels in Insulating Substrates Using Focused Ion Beam Milling
- 20 December 2010
- journal article
- letter
- Published by American Chemical Society (ACS) in Nano Letters
- Vol. 11 (2), 512-517
- https://doi.org/10.1021/nl103369g
Abstract
The use of focused ion beam (FIB) milling to fabricate nanochannels with critical dimensions extending below 5 nm is described. FIB milled lines have narrowing widths as they are milled deeper into a substrate. This focusing characteristic is coupled with a two-layered architecture consisting of a relatively thick (>100 nm) metal film deposited onto a substrate. A channel is milled through the metal layer until it penetrates a prescribed depth into the substrate material. The metal is then removed, leaving a nanochannel with smooth surfaces and lateral dimensions as small as sub-5 nm. These open nanochannels can be sealed with a cover plate and the resulting devices are well-suited for single-molecule DNA transport studies. This methodology is used with quartz, single-crystal silicon, and polydimethylsiloxane substrates to demonstrate its general utility.Keywords
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