Polymer sequencing apparatus

A method comprising:

• loading a sample that includes a nucleic acid comprising at least 10,000 bases into a reservoir of a device;
• applying, by electrodes of the device, an electric field to the device to drive the nucleic acid from the reservoir into a nanochannel connected to the reservoir and to a nanochannel exit positioned adjacent a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) enhancement structure;
• and
• optically reading via a detector of the device an identify and position within the nucleic acid of each of the 10,000 bases as the nucleic acid emerges from the exit.

A nanofabricated device for surface enhanced Raman scattering readout of individual nucleotides of a ssDNA strand, the device comprising:

• a loading zone for loading a solution comprising ssDNA onto the device;
• a set of electrodes for applying an electric field for electrophoretic control of the ssDNA translocation;
• a nanopillar array for aiding in loading the ssDNA into nanochannels;
• one or more nanochannels for extending and linearizing the ssDNA;
• and
• an enhancement structure at the exit of each nanochannel for enhancing local electromagnetic fields to excite surface enhanced Raman scattering as nucleotides of an ssDNA strand pass through a hot spot of the enhancement structure.