NANOPARTICLE LOCALIZATION ON SOLID-STATE NANOPORES VIA ELECTROPHORETIC FORCE

This work presents a versatile and facile method for precise localization of nanoparticles on solid-state nanopores surface-functionalized with carbon via electron beam induced deposition (EBID). For the first time, EBID of carbon is demonstrated to enable nanoparticle localization on solid-state nanopores. To avoid non-specific adsorption of nanoparticles on the surface, an atomic layer deposited Al2O3 layer in combination with phosphonate passivation is used. By tuning the electron dose in the EBID process, the loading fraction of nanoparticles on carbon nanoarrays can be varied on similarly sized domains. Nanoparticle loading driven by electrophoresis can achieve an efficiency that is orders of magnitude higher than that driven by diffusion.