Abstract
A cost effective method to fabricate nanopores in silicon by only using the conventional wet-etching technique is developed in this research. The main concept of the proposed method is a two-step etching process, including a premier double-sided wet etching and a succeeding track-etching. A special fixture is designed to hold the pre-etched silicon wafer inside it such that the track-etching can be effectively carried out. An electrochemical system is employed to detect and record the ion diffusion current once the pre-etched cavities are etched into a through nanopore. Experimental results indicate that the proposed method can cost effectively fabricate nanopores in silicon. A through pore with pore size being around 14 nm can be fabricated.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the National Science Council of Taiwan, for financially supporting this work under Contract No. NSC-96-2212-E-005-024. The Center of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology at National Chung-Hsing University, Taiwan, is appreciated for use of its facilities.
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Wang, GJ., Chen, WZ. & Chang, K.J. A two-step etching method to fabricate nanopores in silicon. Microsyst Technol 14, 925–929 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-007-0481-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-007-0481-3