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Fine-tuning the Size and Minimizing the Noise of Solid-state Nanopores
Published on: October 31, 2013
Integration of solid-state nanopores in a 0.5 μm CMOS foundry process
A Uddin1, S Yemenicioglu, C-H Chen
1Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.
Nanotechnology
|March 23, 2013
Summary
We integrated solid-state nanopores into a CMOS chip for high-resolution DNA sensing. Coating with Al2O3 reduced leakage and noise, enabling successful DNA translocation experiments.
Area of Science:
- Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
- Electrical Engineering
- Biotechnology
Background:
- High-bandwidth, low-noise nanopore sensors are essential for single-DNA-base resolution.
- Integrating solid-state nanopores with CMOS electronics offers a path to enhanced sensor performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To integrate solid-state nanopore devices into a commercial CMOS potentiostat chip.
- To develop a batch fabrication method for sub-10 nm electrode-embedded nanopores.
- To improve CMOS nanopore device performance by mitigating ionic leakage and noise.
Main Methods:
- Post-CMOS micromachining of n+ polysilicon/SiO2/n+ polysilicon structures for nanopore membranes.
- Nanopore creation via transmission electron microscopy drilling and atomic layer deposition (ALD) shrinking.
- Batch fabrication using electron beam lithography and ALD for CMOS-compatible wafers.
- Al2O3 coating to act as an ionic diffusion barrier.
Main Results:
- Successful integration of solid-state nanopores into a commercial CMOS potentiostat chip.
- Demonstrated batch fabrication of sub-10 nm diameter nanopores.
- Al2O3 coating effectively reduced current leakage and improved device robustness and noise performance (lower 1/f noise).
- Experimental validation of Al2O3-coated CMOS nanopore functionality using λ-DNA translocation.
Conclusions:
- The developed CMOS-compatible fabrication process enables the creation of high-performance nanopore sensors.
- Al2O3 coating is crucial for mitigating ionic diffusion and enhancing device stability and signal quality.
- The integrated system shows promise for advanced DNA sequencing and analysis applications.
