'Like uprooting tree stumps'—pulling nanoscale anchors creates tiny pores that could speed biosensor manufacturing
A new manufacturing method could help move the production of nanoscale sensors from specialized fabrication facilities to conventional semiconductor manufacturing plants.Publishing in Science Advances, researchers from KTH Royal Institute of Technology liken their technique to uprooting a tree stump with a rope.
Researchers from KTH Royal Institute of Technology have developed a novel method to create nanoscale nanopores in thin membranes, a critical component for various biosensor technologies. The technique, likened to uprooting a tree stump with a rope, employs built-in mechanical stress to generate these tiny pores in parallel, rather than the traditional serial drilling methods.
This advancement could make biosensor manufacturing more scalable and cost-effective, potentially ushering in a new era for medical research and specialized clinics. The process involves stretching a top layer on a silicon wafer, followed by etching away a subsequent layer to define the nanopore shape in the third layer. The resulting pores, ranging from 6 to 10 nanometers in size, demonstrate promising applications in DNA analysis and molecule detection. The team has already patented the technique and is working on commercializing it through a startup.
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