Ion-beam sculpting at nanometre length scales

Jiali Li, Derek Stein, Ciaran McMullan, Daniel Branton, Michael J. Aziz and Jene A. Golovchenko ()
Additional contact information
Jiali Li: Department of Physics
Derek Stein: Harvard University
Ciaran McMullan: Harvard University
Daniel Branton: Harvard University
Michael J. Aziz: Harvard University
Jene A. Golovchenko: Department of Physics

Nature, 2001, vol. 412, issue 6843, 166-169

Abstract: Abstract Manipulating matter at the nanometre scale is important for many electronic, chemical and biological advances1,2,3, 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 switches4,5,6 and function as masks7 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 membranes8. 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.

Date: 2001
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DOI: 10.1038/35084037

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