Abstract

The development and characterization of a new solid-state nanopore sensor for the detection of single DNA molecules was reported. The formation of nanopores in Al2O3 membranes results in the localized crystallization and faceted grain growth of hexagonal γ-Al 2O3 nanocrystallites in the vicinity of the pore, attributed to nanoscale thermal annealing and electron-beam assisted diffusion. Nanopores formed in MOS capacitors with thin SiO2 membranes report the possibility of single-nucleotide resolution with potential application to next-generation DNA sequencing systems. It is found that the damage mechanism in alumina during pore formation is attributed to the Knotek-Feibelman oxygen-ion desorption mechanism. The slow time scales show that the majority of current blockades observed are DNA-translocation events involving significant interactions with the pore surface.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)2771-2776
Number of pages6
JournalAdvanced Materials
Volume21
Issue number27
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 20 2009

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Materials Science
  • Mechanics of Materials
  • Mechanical Engineering

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