Solid-state nanopores fabricated by pulse-controlled dielectric breakdown

Abstract

This article describes a promising technique to fabricate individual solid-state nanopores directly on dielectric membranes by using adjustable pulses controlled dielectric breakdown in electrolyte. The pulse parameters are adjustable with the running of fabrication process, which is suitable for various thickness and material of the membrane and control precision with sub-nanometer. Moreover, double-stranded DNA translocations through the reliable nanopores fabricated in this manner were successfully demonstrated, exhibiting excellent electrical signals and long DNA translocation times with high signal-to-noise ratio. This economical and timesaving method shows enormous promise for the manufacturing of future nanopore-based technologies and lays the foundation for future research in the field of single molecule detection.