Ablating nanoscale pores in crystalline quartz using laser-induced micro-plasmas in tri-layer structures
We demonstrate a novel approach for achieving rapid, consistent, and controllable micro-pore fabrication in single-crystalline quartz. These micro-pores are essential for applications in biology, i.e., studying ion channels in general and mechano-sensitive channels (MSC) in particular. The fabrication process consists of direct material ablation using pulsed UV light from a 193 nm excimer laser. These pulses ablate single-crystalline quartz chips by burning a laser-induced plasma in a tri-layer structure. Controllable plasma confinement and thus pore size is achieved by sandwiching a thin layer of a selected organic solution between the quartz chip and different substrates. This solution causes the confined micro-plasma to generate special ablation conditions, to create uniformly sized and shaped nanopores.
- Research Organization:
- Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- #DE-FG02-03ER46028; FG02-03ER46028
- OSTI ID:
- 1643204
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1800111
- Journal Information:
- Optical Materials Express, Journal Name: Optical Materials Express Vol. 10 Journal Issue: 8; ISSN 2159-3930
- Publisher:
- Optical Society of AmericaCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
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