Understanding Electrical Conduction and Nanopore Formation During Controlled Breakdown.

ABSTRACT: Controlled breakdown has recently emerged as a highly appealing technique to fabricate solid-state nanopores for a wide range of biosensing applications. This technique relies on applying an electric field of approximately 0.4-1 V nm^-1 across the membrane to induce a current, and eventually, breakdown of the dielectric. Although previous studies have performed controlled breakdown under a range of different conditions, the mechanism of conduction and breakdown has not been fully explored. Here, electrical conduction and nanopore formation in SiN_x membranes during controlled breakdown is studied. It is demonstrated that for Si-rich SiN_x , oxidation reactions that occur at the membrane-electrolyte interface limit conduction across the dielectric. However, for

SUBMITTER: Fried JP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11475566 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature