Localizing nanopore fabrication on a membrane by laser illumination during controlled breakdown

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10753009-B2
Application number	US-201615552534-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 24, 2016
Priority date	Feb 24, 2015
Publication date	Aug 25, 2020
Grant date	Aug 25, 2020

Abstract

A method for fabricating a nanopore at a particular location in a membrane includes controlling a dielectric strength of the membrane at a particular location on the membrane while applying one of an electric potential or an electric current to the membrane, monitoring an electrical property across the membrane while one of the electric potential or the electric current is being applied across the membrane, detecting an abrupt change in the electrical property across the membrane while one of the electric potential or the electric current is being applied across the membrane; and removing the electric potential or the electric current from the membrane in response to detecting the abrupt change in the electrical property.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for fabricating a nanopore at a particular location in a membrane comprised of at least one dielectric material, the method comprising:
directing a laser beam onto the particular location on the membrane while applying one of an electric potential or an electric current to the membrane;
monitoring an electrical property across the membrane while one of the electric potential or the electric current is being applied across the membrane;
detecting an abrupt change in the electrical property across the membrane while one of the electric potential or the electric current is being applied across the membrane; and
removing the electric potential or the electric current from the membrane in response to detecting the abrupt change in the electrical property.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprises removing the laser beam from the particular location on the membrane in response to detecting the abrupt change in the electrical property across the membrane.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the one of the electric potential or the electric current is applied after the laser beam is directed onto the particular location on the membrane.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the laser beam is directed onto the particular location on the membrane after the one of the electric potential or the electric current is applied.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprises directing the laser beam onto a second location on the membrane and thereby forming a second nanopore in the membrane, where the second location differs from the particular location.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein, with an electric potential being applied to the membrane, the electrical property being monitored is a leakage current, and the detecting the abrupt change in the electrical property further comprises detecting an abrupt increase in the leakage current across the membrane.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the detecting the abrupt increase in the leakage current further comprises determining a rate of change of the leakage current and comparing the rate of change to a threshold, and the electric potential is removed when the rate of change of the leakage current is greater than the threshold, thereby stopping the fabrication of a nanopore.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein the detecting the abrupt increase in the leakage current further comprises comparing a value of the leakage current to a threshold, and the electric potential is removed when the value of the leakage current is greater than the threshold, thereby stopping the fabrication of a nanopore.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein, with an electrical current being applied to the membrane, the electrical property being monitored is a voltage across the membrane, and the detecting the abrupt change in the electrical property further comprises detecting an abrupt decrease in the voltage across the membrane.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprises:
disposing the membrane between two reservoirs filled with a fluid containing ions, such that the membrane separates the two reservoirs and prevents the fluid from passing between the two reservoirs;
placing an electrode into each of the two reservoirs; and
generating the one of the electric potential or the electric current using the electrodes.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprises:
disposing the membrane between two reservoirs filled with a fluid containing ions, such that the membrane separates the two reservoirs and prevents the fluid from passing between the two reservoirs;
placing an electrode in direct contact with the membrane; and
generating the one of the electric potential or the electric current using the electrodes.

12. A method for fabricating a nanopore at a particular location in a membrane, the method comprising:
directing a laser beam from a light source onto a surface of the membrane at the particular location on the membrane, wherein the membrane is comprised of at least one dielectric material;
applying one of an electric potential or an electric current to the membrane;
measuring an electrical property across the membrane while the one of the electric potential or the electric current is being applied to the membrane and the laser beam is being directed at the particular location, wherein the electrical property includes at least one of voltage or leakage current;
comparing value of the measured electrical property to a threshold; and
removing the one of the electric potential or the electric current to the membrane and removing the laser beam from the particular location on the membrane in response to the value of the measured electrical property exceeding the threshold.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprises selecting a wavelength for the laser beam based on material composition of the membrane.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the one of the electric potential or the electric current is applied after the laser beam is directed onto the particular location on the membrane.

15. The method of claim 12 wherein the laser beam is directed onto the particular location on the membrane after the one of the electric potential or the electric current is applied.

16. The method of claim 12 wherein the electrical property includes the leakage current across the membrane when an electrical potential is applied to the membrane, and the comparing value of the measured electrical property further comprises determining a rate of change of the leakage current and comparing the rate of change, as the value, to the threshold, and the electric potential and the laser beam are removed when the rate of change of the leakage current is greater than the threshold, thereby stopping the fabrication of a nanopore.

17. The method of claim 12 wherein the electrical property includes the leakage current across the membrane when an electrical potential is applied to the membrane, and the electric potential and the laser beam are removed when the value of the leakage current is greater than the threshold, thereby stopping the fabrication of the nanopore.

18. The method of claim 12 wherein the electrical property includes the voltage across the membrane when an electrical current is applied to the membrane, and the electrical current and the laser beam are removed when the value of the voltage is less than the threshold, thereby stopping the fabrication of the nanopore.

19. The method of claim 12 further comprises:
disposing the membrane between two reservoirs filled with a fluid containing ions, such that the membrane separates the two reservoirs and prevents the fluid from passing between the two reservoirs;
placing an electrode into each of the two reservoirs; and
generating the one of the electric potential or the electric current using the electrodes.

20. The method of claim 12 further comprises:
disposing the membrane between two reservoirs filled with a fluid containing ions, such that the membrane separates the two reservoirs and prevents the fluid from passing between the two reservoirs;
placing an electrode in direct contact with the membrane; and
generating the one of the electric potential or the electric current using the electrodes.

21. The method of claim 12 wherein, to form a plurality of the nanopores at predetermined locations on the membrane, at each of the predetermined locations, the laser beam is directed onto the surface of the membrane at the predetermined location on the membrane, the one of the electric potential or the electric current is appl

Assignees

• Univ Ottawa

Inventors

• Bustamante Jose
• Briggs Kyle
• Tabard-Cossa Vincent

Classifications

• B01D71/0215

  Silicon carbide; Silicon nitride; Silicon oxycarbide · CPC title

• B01D2325/02832

  1-10 nm · CPC title

• C25F7/00

  Constructional parts, or assemblies thereof, of cells for electrolytic removal of material from objects (for both electrolytic coating and removal C25D); Servicing or operating · CPC title

• C25F3/02 Primary

  Etching · CPC title

• B01D67/006 Primary

  by elimination of segments of the precursor, e.g. nucleation-track membranes, lithography or laser methods · CPC title