Thin Nanoporous Metal-Insulator-Metal Membranes

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Insulating nanoporous materials are key for soft-ionizing membranes.
• Current fabrication methods require improvement for thin insulator layers.
• High breakdown resistance is crucial for device integration and performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate scalable fabrication of thin, insulating silicon dioxide membranes.
• To achieve controlled thickness and high porosity in the membranes.
• To evaluate the insulating properties and potential for molecular ionization.

Main Methods:

• Utilized plasma-enhanced chemical-vapor-deposition (PECVD) for membrane fabrication.
• Fabricated highly porous, thin silicon dioxide membranes with controlled thickness.
• Performed breakdown voltage measurements and theoretical calculations.

Main Results:

• Achieved scalable fabrication of silicon dioxide nanoporous membranes.
• Demonstrated good insulating properties with a breakdown voltage of 1 × 10^7 V/cm.
• Calculations indicate an electric field of 1 × 10^6 V/cm within nanopores, suitable for ionization.

Conclusions:

• Scalable fabrication of high-quality insulating nanoporous membranes is feasible.
• These membranes offer high breakdown resistance and electric fields for molecular ionization.
• Metal-insulator-metal nanoporous arrays are promising for soft ionizing membranes in mass spectroscopy.