Integrated solid-state nanopore platform for nanopore fabrication via dielectric breakdown, DNA-speed deceleration and noise reduction

The practical use of solid-state nanopores for DNA sequencing requires easy fabrication of the nanopores, reduction of the DNA movement speed and reduction of the ionic current noise. Here, we report an integrated nanopore platform with a nanobead structure that decelerates DNA movement and an insulating polyimide layer that reduces noise. To enable rapid nanopore fabrication, we introduced a controlled dielectric breakdown (CDB) process into our system. DNA translocation experiments revealed that single nanopores were created by the CDB process without sacrificing performance in reducing DNA movement speed by up to 10 μs/base or reducing noise up to 600 pA(rms) at 1 MHz. Our platform provides the essential components for proceeding to the next step in the process of DNA sequencing.