Monday, November 27, 2006

US Patent 7138331 - Nanogap Electrode Sensor

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7138331.pdf

In order to achieve detection on the nanoscale it is often necessary to position sensing electrodes within nanometers of one another. Unfortunately it is difficult to position and/or reliably reproduce identical seperation distances which would be required for mass production of such sensors. This patent proposes a fairly elegant solution which takes advantage of the ability to form uniform thickness films in the production of a nanogap electrode. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method for manufacturing a nano-gap electrode device, comprising: forming a first electrode on a substrate; forming a separation layer with a predetermined thickness all over the substrate including the first electrode; removing a portion or all of the separation layer on the first electrode; forming a second electrode on the separation layer, which is formed on the substrate at a side of the first electrode; and forming a nano-gap between the first electrode and the second electrode, by completely removing the separation layer remained therebetween; wherein the separation layer is formed with the same thickness as a width of the nano-gap, and deposited with the same thickness on a surface and a sidewall of the first electrode, and the substrate.