Machining technologies for silicon-based nanochannels and some properties of aqueous solutions confined in these channels

The most important motivation of this thesis is study the viscosity of water in confined nanospaces by measuring mobility of single nanoparticles. To perform mobility studies using a high numerical aperture lens from an inverted microscope, one-dimensional (1D) nanochannel devices were fabricated. 1D nanochannels were fabricated by direct bonding of a processed silicon wafer with a very thin glass wafer. We have developed a new and simple method to construct two-dimensional (2D) nanochannels using several common techniques of conventional microfabrication like underetching of a sacrificial layer, and vertically evaporation deposition. Encapsulated 2D nanochannels with both dimensions of height and width down to sub-20 nm regimes were directly obtained without requiring bonding. Fluorescence filling results proved that the fabricated channels were not leaking and that they can be used to study fluorescent solutions.