Ion-beam Sculpting at Nanometre Length Scales
| Title: | Ion-beam Sculpting at Nanometre Length Scales |
| Author: |
Aziz, Michael; Golovchenko, Jene; Branton, Daniel; McMullan, Ciaran; Stein, Derek; Li, Jiali
Note: Order does not necessarily reflect citation order of authors. |
| Citation: | Li, Jiali, Derek Stein, Ciaran McMullan, Daniel Branton, Michael J. Aziz, and Jene A. Golovchenko. 2001. Ion-beam sculpting at nanometre length scales. Nature 412(6843): 166-169. |
| Full Text & Related Files: |
nanoscale.pdf (795.8Kb; PDF) 
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| Abstract: | Manipulating matter at the nanometre scale is important for many electronic, chemical and biological advances, but present solid-state fabrication methods do not reproducibly achieve dimensional control at the nanometre scale. Here we report a means of fashioning matter at these dimensions that uses low-energy ion beams and reveals surprising atomic transport phenomena that occur in a variety of materials and geometries. The method is implemented in a feedback-controlled sputtering system that provides fine control over ion beam exposure and sample temperature. We call the method "ion-beam sculpting", and apply it to the problem of fabricating a molecular-scale hole, or nanopore, in a thin insulating solid-state membrane. Such pores can serve to localize molecular-scale electrical junctions and switches, and function as masks to create other small-scale structures. Nanopores also function as membrane channels in all living systems, where they serve as extremely sensitive electro-mechanical devices that regulate electric potential, ionic flow, and molecular transport across cellular membranes. We show that ion-beam sculpting can be used to fashion an analogous solid-state device: a robust electronic detector consisting of a single nanopore in a Si3N4 membrane, capable of registering single DNA molecules in aqueous solution. |
| Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/35084037 |
| Other Sources: | http://www.seas.harvard.edu/matsci/people/aziz/publications/mja136.pdf |
| Terms of Use: | This article is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of-use#LAA |
| Citable link to this page: | http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:2797422 |
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