Despite 15 years of extensive investigation, the fabrication and study of nanofluidic devices that incorporate a single carbon nanotube (CNT) still represents a remarkable experimental challenge. In this study, we present the fabrication of nanofluidic devices that integrate an individual single-walled CNT (SWCNT), showcasing a notable reduction in noise by 1–3 orders of magnitude compared to conventional devices. This achievement was made possible by employing high dielectric constant materials for both the substrate and the CNT-covering layer. Furthermore, we provide a detailed account of the crucial factors contributing to the successful fabrication of SWCNT-based nanofluidic devices that are reliably leak-free, plug-free, and long-lived. Key considerations include the quality of the substrate-layer interface, the nanotube opening, and the effective removal of photoresist residues and trapped microbubbles. We demonstrate that these devices, characterized by a high signal-to-noise ratio, enable spectral noise analysis of ionic transport through an individual SWCNT, thus showing that SWCNTs obey Hooge's law in 1/f at low frequencies. Beyond advancing our fundamental understanding of ion transport in SWCNTs, these ultralow-noise measurements open avenues for leveraging SWCNTs in nanopore sensing applications for single-molecule detection, offering high sensitivity and identification capabilities.

中文翻译：

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单个单壁碳纳米管内离子传输的超低噪声测量


尽管进行了 15 年的广泛调查，但采用单个碳纳米管 （CNT） 的纳米流体器件的制造和研究仍然是一项非凡的实验挑战。在这项研究中，我们介绍了集成单个单壁 CNT （SWCNT） 的纳米流体器件的制造，与传统器件相比，噪声显着降低了 1-3 个数量级。这一成就是通过在基板和 CNT 覆盖层中采用高介电常数材料实现的。此外，我们还详细介绍了有助于成功制造基于 SWCNT 的纳米流体器件的关键因素，这些器件具有可靠的无泄漏、无堵塞和长寿命。关键考虑因素包括衬底层界面的质量、纳米管开口以及有效去除光刻胶残留物和捕获的微气泡。我们证明这些器件具有高信噪比的特点，能够通过单个 SWCNT 对离子传输进行频谱噪声分析，从而表明 SWCNT 在低频下服从 1/f 的 Hooge 定律。除了推进我们对 SWCNT 中离子传输的基本理解外，这些超低噪声测量还为在纳米孔传感应用中利用 SWCNT 进行单分子检测开辟了途径，从而提供高灵敏度和鉴定能力。