A two-step etching method to fabricate nanopores in silicon

Abstract

A cost effective 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. A through pore with pore size being around 14 nm can be fabricated.