Capillary filling speed in silicon dioxide nano-channels

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We present a simple silicon-based fabrication technique for nanocapillaries based on controlled growth of silicon-dioxide, UV lithography, etching with etch-stop, and glass wafer bonding. Our approach improves state-of-the-art with respect to the obtained cross-wafer homogeneity and precision in the height of the nanocapillaries. The improvement is due to our use of the silicon substrate as an etch stop. We extend the results in Tas et al., Appl. Phys. Lett., Vol. 85, 3274 (2004), by measuring capillary filling speed on seven different channel heights, ranging from 25 to 3400 nm. A systematic deviation from bulk behaviour has been observed for channel heights below 100 nm.

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Journal: TechConnect Briefs
Volume: 2, Technical Proceedings of the 2006 NSTI Nanotechnology Conference and Trade Show, Volume 2
Published: May 7, 2006
Pages: 521 - 523
Industry sectors: Medical & Biotech | Sensors, MEMS, Electronics
Topic: Micro & Bio Fluidics, Lab-on-Chip
ISBN: 0-9767985-7-3