Micro/nano Fabrication of Nanopores Formed Through SiN

This paper reports a novel micro/nano fabrication method for mass production of low-stressed silicon nitride (SiN) membrane nanopores with the precisely size-controlled 30 nm in diameter using an anisotropic reactive ion etching (ARIE) and nano-imprinting method, while maintaining compatibility with CMOS IC processes. Our method differs from that of Striemer group [1] in the specific membrane material, and Hien group [2] in the specific fabrication protocols. Micromachining protocols facilitate the accomplishing nanostructures to be used for separation of collections of particles. However, membrane fragility and complex fabrication prevents the use of ultrathin membranes for molecular separations. Here, we report a novel, simple and robust micro/nano fabrication method of strong SiN nanosieve membrane with the small, precise, and uniform nano-sized pore structures with a diameter of 30 nm. (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd.