A Two-Step Etching Method to Fabricate Nanopores in Silicon

TL;DR

This paper presents a cost-effective two-step wet-etching process for fabricating silicon nanopores, combining double-sided etching and track-etching with specialized fixtures and electrochemical detection.

Contribution

It introduces a novel two-step etching method using conventional wet-etching techniques and a custom fixture for efficient silicon nanopore fabrication.

Findings

Successful fabrication of silicon nanopores using the proposed method

Electrochemical detection confirms pore formation

Cost-effective and efficient process demonstrated

Abstract

A cost effectively method to fabricate nanopores in silicon by only using the conventional wet-etching technique is developed in this research. The main concept of the proposed method is a two-step etching process, including a premier double-sided wet etching and a succeeding track-etching. A special fixture is designed to hold the pre-etched silicon wafer inside it such that the track-etching can be effectively carried out. An electrochemical system is employed to detect and record the ion diffusion current once the pre-etched cavities are etched into a through nanopore. Experimental results indicate that the proposed method can cost effectively fabricate nanopores in silicon.