Wet anisotropic etching for fluidic 1D nanochannels

In this paper a method is proposed to fabricate channels for fluidic applications with a depth in the nanometer range. The channels with smooth and straight sidewalls are constructed with the help of micromachining technology by etching shallow trenches into <100> silicon using native oxide as a mask material and OPD ressist developer as the etchant. Sub-50 nm deep fluidic channels are formed after bonding the nanopatterned wafers with silicon of barofloat-glass wafers. The nanofabrication process is largely simplified by using native oxide as the main mast material. The etch depth of the nanochannels is limited by the thickness of the native ocide layer, and by the selectivity of the oxide/silicon etch rate (etimated to be at least 250 for <110> silicon at room temperature).