Surface engineering of synthetic nanopores by atomic layer deposition and their applications

doi:10.1007/s11706-013-0218-4

Front Mater Sci

2013, Vol. 7

Issue (4) : 335-349 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11706-013-0218-4

REVIEW ARTICLE

Surface engineering of synthetic nanopores by atomic layer deposition and their applications

Ce-Ming WANG¹, De-Lin KONG², Qiang CHEN²(

), Jian-Ming XUE¹(

)

1. State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; 2. Laboratory of Plasma Physics and Materials, Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication, Beijing 102600, China

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Abstract

In the past decade, nanopores have been developed extensively for various potential applications, and their performance greatly depends on the surface properties of the nanopores. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a new technology for depositing thin films, which has been rapidly developed from a niche technology to an established method. ALD films can cover the surface in confined regions even in nanoscale conformally, thus it is proved to be a powerful tool to modify the surface of the synthetic nanopores and also to fabricate complex nanopores. This review gives a brief introduction on nanopore synthesis and ALD fundamental knowledge, and then focuses on the various aspects of synthetic nanopores processing by ALD and their applications, including single-molecule sensing, nanofluidic devices, nanostructure fabrication and other applications.

Keywords synthetic nanopore atomic layer deposition (ALD) surface engineering

Corresponding Author(s): CHEN Qiang,Email:lppmchenqiang@hotmail.com; XUE Jian-Ming,Email:jmxue@pku.edu.cn

Issue Date: 05 December 2013

Cite this article:

Ce-Ming WANG,De-Lin KONG,Qiang CHEN, et al. Surface engineering of synthetic nanopores by atomic layer deposition and their applications[J]. Front Mater Sci, 2013, 7(4): 335-349.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/foms/EN/10.1007/s11706-013-0218-4
https://academic.hep.com.cn/foms/EN/Y2013/V7/I4/335

Fig.1 Principle of ALD, illustrated by the process for deposition of Al2O3 using TMA and H2O. Small blue spheres represent hydrogen atom, red spheres for carbon, large violet spheres are for aluminum, and yellow spheres for oxygen atoms. Figure courtesy of Cambridge NanoTech Inc.

Fig.2 Ion bean sculpting to make nanopores from a cavity (left) or from a through hole (right). Either sputter erosion or lateral transport processes dominate, depending on the selected conditions used in the ion beam sculpting apparatus []. (Reproduced with permission from Ref. [], Copyright 2006 Elsevier Ltd.)

Fig.3 The TEM technique developed by Stormet et al. []. An electron beam drilled a hole in the membrane. The result can be directly monitored in the electron microscope and the electron beam can also be used to enlarge or shrink the nanopore in a controlled way. The figure at the bottom right shows a typical TEM image of a nanopore (with a diameter of 3 nm in this example). (Reproduced with permission from Ref. [], Copyright 2007 Nature Publishing Group)

Fig.4 Schematic of the fabrication process of track-etched membrane by the track-etching technique.

Fig.5 TEM images of several pores before deposition and after deposition of AlO coatings by ALD 500 (d), 70 (e) and 24 (f) cycles of AlO. (Reproduced with permission from Ref. [], Copyright 2004 American Chemical Society)

Fig.6 Process flow for the formation of AlO nanopores start with double-side polished 300 mm thick silicon wafer, deposit 70 nm of AlO by ALD, deposit 500 nm low-stress SiN using PECVD process, pattern 30 mm × 30 mm windows on the wafer front side via optical lithography and deep reactive ion etching (DRIE), pattern 30 mm × 30 mm windows on the wafer backside and etch using DRIE and stop on the AlO layer creating a membrane, use a tightly focused electron beam to form nanometer-sized pores. (Reproduced with permission from Ref. [], Copyright 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Fig.7 Principle of electrode-embedded nanopores. Ionic transport through the nanopores can be manipulated by the surrounding gate dielectric (TiO, orange) which were coated by ALD and gate electrode (TiN, yellow) (The green color shows SiN). (Reproduced with permission from Ref. [], Copyright 2009 American Chemical Society)

Fig.8 Top: The procedure of nanochannel fabrication (gray, amorphous silicon; cyan, SiO; blue, silicon substrate; yellow, ALD film). Bottom: Cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of pipe structures, 35 nm void structures (10 min wet etching), 20 nm void structures (5 min wet etching), and 8 nm void structures (3 min wet etching). (Reproduced with permission from Ref. [], Copyright 2010 American Chemical Society)

Fig.9 Schematic of the process to create titania nanotube arrays on Si substrates: nanoporous-alumina template on a substrate created by anodization of Al film; TiO deposited onto the surface of the template by ALD; top layer of TiO on alumina removed by gentle mechanical polish; alumina template chemically etched away to reveal array of titania nanotubes on the substrate. (Reproduced with permission from Ref. [], Copyright 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Fig.10 Nanostraw–cell interfacing strategy and fabrication. Schematic of cell cultured on nanostraw membrane with microfluidic channel access. Straw fabrication process flow beginning with a nanoporous PC membrane, proceeding with conformal alumina ALD, then an alumina specific directional reactive ion etch, and conclusions with a PC specific directional reactive ion etch. SEM images of nanostraw membranes. (Reproduced with permission from Ref. [], Copyright 2012 American Chemical Society)

Fig.11 Bottom of tube showing the AAO barrier layer and three layers corresponding to the TiN bottom electrode (BE), AlO and the TiN top electrode (TE). Pore openings at the top also show a similar trilayer structure. Thickness measurements at the top and bottom of the pores indicate a step coverage of>93% for all layers. (Reproduced with permission from Ref. [], Copyright 2009 Nature Publishing Group)

Fig.12 SEM images recorded from top, middle, and bottom portions of AAO membranes following 100 cycles of AlO ALD using exposure times of 1, 3, 10 and 30 s, respectively. (Reproduced with permission from Ref. [], Copyright 2003 American Chemical Society)

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