Design and fabrication of a novel microfluidic nanoprobe

Nicolaie Moldovan*, Keun Ho Kim, Horacio D. Espinosa

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

52 Scopus citations

Abstract

The design and fabrication of a novel microfluidic nanoprobe system are presented. The nanoprobe consists of cantilevered ultrasharp volcano-like tips, with microfluidic capabilities consisting of microchannels connected to an on-chip reservoir. The chip possesses additional connection capabilities to a remote reservoir. The fabrication uses standard surface micromachining techniques and materials. Bulk micromachining is employed for chip release. The microchannels are fabricated in silicon nitride by a new methodology, based on edge underetching of a sacrificial layer, bird's beak oxidation for mechanically closing the edges, and deposition of a sealing layer. The design and integration of various elements of the system and their fabrication are discussed. The system is conceived mainly to work as a "nanofountain pen", i.e., a continuously writing upgrade of the dip-pen nanolithography approach. Moreover, the new chip shows a much larger applicability area in fields such as electrochemical nanoprobes, nanoprobe-based etching, build-up tools for nanofabrication, or a probe for materials interactive analysis. Preliminary tests for writing and imaging with the new device were performed. These tests illustrate the capabilities of the new device and demonstrate possible directions for improvement.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)204-213
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Microelectromechanical Systems
Volume15
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2006

Funding

Manuscript received February 15, 2005; revised July 29, 2005. This work was supported by the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Initiative of the National Science Foundation under NSF Award Number EEC-0118025. Subject Editor D. Cho. The authors are with the Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208 USA (e-mail: [email protected]). Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/JMEMS.2005.863701

Keywords

  • Dip-pen nanolithography
  • Microfluidics
  • Micropipette
  • Nanoprobe

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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