Stability and bandwidth investigation of alternative structures for nanopore sensors

The genetic information carriers, DNA molecules can be thought of as the blueprints of living organisms. This crucial functionality of the DNA mole- cules may explain the drive and momentum for DNA sequencing research. The commonly used parallel sequencing methods require extensive sample preparation, long processing times and expensive chemical reagents. In or- der to realize the goal of $1000 genome sequencing, many alternative meth- ods are proposed. One of the most promising technologies among these is nanopore sequencing. Nanopore sequencing involves the threading of a DNA molecule between two electrolytic reservoirs through a nanometer-sized pore on a synthetic or an organic platform by means of electrophoresis and/or mag- netism. During the threading of DNA molecules, various electrical aspects of the bases are investigated. The minimal label-free sample preparation, possibility of parallelizability and high throughput are the factors that make this method a very promising solution for low-cost, robust and fast DNA se- quencing. In the nanopore sequencing eld, the synthetic platforms have the advantage of durability and mass production value due to the existing sili- con device fabrication technologies. This thesis work focuses on the stability and bandwidth investigation of alternative structures for nanopore sensing. Membranes with various thicknesses of Al2O3, Si3N4 and SiO2 stack con gu- rations were fabricated. The fabricated membranes were analyzed and drilled through by focused e-beam sputtering in TEM. The membranes were tested in 0.1 M and 1 M KCl solutions for IV characteristics, noise level and AC response. The membranes with desirable noise and IV characteristics were further tested for DNA sensing purposes. The membranes featuring Al2O3 insulating layer con gurations yielded low noise, high bandwidth and lim- ited durability in KCl solutions. The low yield in DNA sensing in 1 M KCl solutions using these architectures forms the background and motivation for next generation structures for DNA sensing.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Electrical & Computer Engr

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2010

Author dc:creator

• Yemenicioglu, Sukru

Contributors dc:contributor

• Bashir, Rashid

• Nanopore
• Bandwidth
• Biopore
• Alumina
• Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3)
• Silicon Nitride (Si3N4)
• electrolyte
• Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA)
• cis
• trans

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2010 Sukru Yemenicioglu

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/16989

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/16989