Integrated nanopore sensing platform with sub-microsecond temporal resolution.

Nanopore sensors have attracted considerable interest for high-throughput sensing of individual nucleic acids and proteins without the need for chemical labels or complex optics. A prevailing problem in nanopore applications is that the transport kinetics of single biomolecules are often faster than the measurement time resolution. Methods to slow down biomolecular transport can be troublesome and are at odds with the natural goal of high-throughput sensing. Here we introduce a low-noise measurement platform that integrates a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) preamplifier with solid-state nanopores in thin silicon nitride membranes. With this platform we achieved a signal-to-noise ratio exceeding five at a bandwidth of 1 MHz, which to our knowledge is the highest bandwidth nanopore recording to date. We demonstrate transient signals as brief as 1 µs from short DNA molecules as well as current signatures during molecular passage events that shed light on submolecular DNA configurations in small nanopores.

In situ electronic characterization of graphene nanoconstrictions fabricated in a transmission electron microscope.

We report electronic measurements on high-quality graphene nanoconstrictions (GNCs) fabricated in a transmission electron microscope (TEM), and the first measurements on GNC conductance with an accurate measurement of constriction width down to 1 nm. To create the GNCs, freely suspended graphene ribbons were fabricated using few-layer graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition. The ribbons were loaded into the TEM, and a current-annealing procedure was used to clean the material and improve its electronic characteristics. The TEM beam was then used to sculpt GNCs to a series of desired widths in the range 1-700 nm; after each sculpting step, the sample was imaged by TEM and its electronic properties were measured in situ. GNC conductance was found to be remarkably high, comparable to that of exfoliated graphene samples of similar size. The GNC conductance varied with width approximately as G(w)=(e2/h)w0.75, where w is the constriction width in nanometers. GNCs support current densities greater than 120 µA/nm2, 2 orders of magnitude higher than that which has been previously reported for graphene nanoribbons and 2000 times higher than that reported for copper.

DNA translocation through graphene nanopores.

We report on DNA translocations through nanopores created in graphene membranes. Devices consist of 1-5 nm thick graphene membranes with electron-beam sculpted nanopores from 5 to 10 nm in diameter. Due to the thin nature of the graphene membranes, we observe larger blocked currents than for traditional solid-state nanopores. However, ionic current noise levels are several orders of magnitude larger than those for silicon nitride nanopores. These fluctuations are reduced with the atomic-layer deposition of 5 nm of titanium dioxide over the device. Unlike traditional solid-state nanopore materials that are insulating, graphene is an excellent electrical conductor. Use of graphene as a membrane material opens the door to a new class of nanopore devices in which electronic sensing and control are performed directly at the pore.

Electrically tunable spin polarization in a carbon nanotube spin diode.

We have studied the current through a carbon-nanotube quantum dot with one ferromagnetic and one normal-metal lead. For the values of gate voltage at which the normal lead is resonant with the single available nondegenerate energy level on the dot, we observe a pronounced decrease in the current for one bias direction. We show that this rectification is spin dependent, and that it stems from the interplay between the spin accumulation and the Coulomb blockade on the quantum dot. The degree of resulting spin polarization is fully and precisely tunable using the gate and bias voltages.