Capillarity Induced Negative Pressure of Water Plugs in Nanochannels

Nano Letters

Volumn 3, Issue 11, 2003, Pages 1537-1540

  Tas, Niels R ^a   Mela, Petra ^a   Kramer, Tobias ^b   Berenschot, J W ^a   Van Den Berg, Albert ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF TWENTE   (Netherlands)

^b EPFL   (Switzerland)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

SILICON DIOXIDE;

ARTICLE; CALCULATION; FORCE; MOLECULAR DYNAMICS; MOLECULAR PHYSICS; NANOTECHNOLOGY; PRESSURE;

EID: 0344688277     PISSN: 15306984     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1021/nl034676e     Document Type: Article

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10. Nanochannels were fabricated by the sacrificial layer method on a fused silica substrate wafer, using a tetra-ethyl-ortho-silicate (TEOS) silicon oxide layer as the channel capping. Channels with a length of approximately 375 μm were etched by dissolving a polysilicon sacrificial layer in a 5% tetra-methyl-ammonium-hydroxide (TMAH) solution, with additives to increase selectivity and etch speed. Channels were dried by first replacing the etchant by water, subsequently replacing the water by isopropyl alcohol (both replacements were carried out by diffusion, as rinsing is practically difficult in these small channels), and finally evaporating the alcohol during spinning of the wafer. The sacrificial layer method produces slightly tapered channels of approximately 200 nm height at the entrance down to 86 nm, the initial polysilicon thickness, at the channel end.
11. To fill the channel, a droplet of deionized water (0.08 μS/cm) was deposited on the channel entrance by careful handling using a syringe with a needle (Microlance 0, 3 x 13 mm). After filling of the channel, the water was removed from the entrance by capillary suction of a tissue. After this, the water in the channel would evaporate in a few minutes. During the final stage of the drying process, the remaining water plug with the peculiarly shaped menisci stayed in the most narrow part of the slightly tapered channel.
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