TECHNIQUES FOR FABRICATING HORIZONTALLY ALIGNED NANOCHANNELS FOR MICROFLUIDICS AND BIOSENSORS

• Main Authors: Engelmann Sebastian U, Rossnagel Stephen M, Zhang Ying
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 28.12.2017
• Subjects: CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL LABORATORY APPARATUS FOR GENERAL USE; INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIRCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT THEREOF; MEASURING; MICROSTRUCTURAL DEVICES OR SYSTEMS, e.g. MICROMECHANICALDEVICES; MICROSTRUCTURAL TECHNOLOGY; NANOSTRUCTURES FORMED BY MANIPULATION OF INDIVIDUAL ATOMS,MOLECULES, OR LIMITED COLLECTIONS OF ATOMS OR MOLECULES ASDISCRETE UNITS; NANOTECHNOLOGY; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL; PHYSICS; PROCESSES OR APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE MANUFACTUREOR TREATMENT OF MICROSTRUCTURAL DEVICES OR SYSTEMS; TESTING; TRANSPORTING

Techniques for fabricating horizontally aligned nanochannels are provided. In one aspect, a method of forming a device having nanochannels is provided. The method includes: providing a SOI wafer having a SOI layer on a buried insulator; forming at least one nanowire and pads in the SOI layer, wherein the nanowire is attached at opposite ends thereof to the pads, and wherein the nanowire is suspended over the buried insulator; forming a mask over the pads, the mask having a gap therein where the nanowire is exposed between the pads; forming an alternating series of metal layers and insulator layers alongside one another within the gap and surrounding the nanowire; and removing the nanowire to form at least one of the nanochannels in the alternating series of the metal layers and insulator layers. A device having nanochannels is also provided.