Inventors:
Henry S. White - Salt Lake City UT, US
Bo Zhang - State College PA, US
Ryan J. White - Salt Lake City UT, US
Eric N. Ervin - Salt Lake City UT, US
Gangli Wang - Salt Lake City UT, US
Assignee:
University of Utah Research Foundation - Salt Lake City UT
International Classification:
G01R 31/28
US Classification:
29593, 29592, 295921, 29428, 204416, 204418, 204419, 204420, 204295, 204296, 521 27, 324693, 324713, 324525, 216 13, 216 17, 216 18, 977953, 977904
Abstract:
Provided are fabrication, characterization and application of a nanodisk electrode, a nanopore electrode and a nanopore membrane. These three nanostructures share common fabrication steps. In one embodiment, the fabrication of a disk electrode involves sealing a sharpened internal signal transduction element (“ISTE”) into a substrate, followed by polishing of the substrate until a nanometer-sized disk of the ISTE is exposed. The fabrication of a nanopore electrode is accomplished by etching the nanodisk electrode to create a pore in the substrate, with the remaining ISTE comprising the pore base. Complete removal of the ISTE yields a nanopore membrane, in which a conical shaped pore is embedded in a thin membrane of the substrate.