Formation of nanopores in a SiN/SiO2 membrane with an electron beam

An electron beam can drill nanopores in SiO2 or silicon nitride membranes and shrink a pore to a smaller diameter. Such nanopores are promising for single molecule detection. The pore formation in a 40?nm thick silicon nitride?SiO2 bilayer using an electron beam with a diameter of 8?nm (full width of half height) was investigated by electron...

Electron-beam-induced deformations of SiO2 nanostructures

The imaging beam of a transmission electron microscope can be used to fine tune critical dimensions in silicon oxide nanostructures. This technique is particularly useful for the fabrication of nanopores with single-nanometer precision, down to 2 nm. We report a detailed study on the effect of electron-beam irradiation on apertures with various...