Harvard College

Derek M Stein

Jene A Golovchenko

Daniel Branton

Jiali Li

Michael J Aziz

Ciaran J McMullan

Gavin M King

Gregor M Schurmann

A solid state nanopore device including two or more materials and a method for fabricating the same. The device includes a solid state insulating membrane having an exposed surface, a conductive material disposed on at least a portion of the exposed surface of the solid state membrane, and a nanopore penetrating an area of the conductive material and at least a portion of the solid state membrane. During fabrication a conductive material is applied on a portion of a solid state membrane surface, and a nanopore of a first diameter is formed. When the surface is exposed to an ion beam, material from the membrane and conductive material flows to reduce the diameter of the nanopore. A method for evaluating a polymer molecule using the solid state nanopore device is also described. The device is contacted with the polymer molecule and the molecule is passed through the nanopore, allowing each monomer of the polymer molecule to be monitored.

Solid state molecular probe device

Control of solid state dimensional features

There is provided controlled fabrication of a solid state structural feature on a solid state structure by exposing the structure to a fabrication process environment the conditions of which are selected to produce a prespecified feature in the structure. A physical detection species is directed toward a designated structure location during process environment exposure of the structure, and the detection species is detected in a trajectory from traversal of the designated structure location, to indicate changing physical dimensions of the prespecified feature. The fabrication process environment is then controlled in response to the physical species detection to fabricate the structural feature. Also provided is a method for controlling a physical dimension of a structural feature or to form a feature by exposing the structure to a flux of ions at a selected structure temperature, the exposure conditions being controlled to cause formation of the feature or to cause at least one physical dimension of the feature to be changed, substantially by transport of material of the structure to the structural feature in response to the ion flux exposure.

Growing community of inventors

Somerville, MA, United States of America

Derek M Stein