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US 8,906,215 B2Granted
Field effect based nanosensor for biopolymer manipulation and detection
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsAjay K. Royyuru, Chao Wang
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A mechanism is provided for manipulating a molecule. The molecule is driven into a nanochannel filed with electrically conductive fluid. A first vertical electric field is created inside the nanochannel to slow down the molecule and/or immobilize the molecule. The molecule is stretched into non-folded linear chains by the first vertical electric field and a horizontal electric field. Monomers of the molecule are sequentially read.
Claims7
A system for manipulating a molecule, the system comprising:
- a nanochannel filled with electrically conductive fluid, the molecule being driven into the nanochannel;
- a first pair of trapping electrodes positioned to the nanochannel and comprising a first top electrode and a first bottom electrode, the first pair of trapping electrodes configured to create a first vertical electric field inside the nanochannel to at least one of:
- slow down the molecule and immobilize the molecule;
- a second pair of trapping electrodes positioned to the nanochanel and comprising a second top electrode and a second bottom electrode, the second pair of trapping electrodes configured to create a second vertical electric field inside the nanochannel;
- biasing electrodes configured to create a horizontal electric field;
- the first pair of trapping electrodes configured to stretch the molecule into non-folded linear chains by the first vertical electric field and the horizontal electric field;
- a pair of sensing electrodes positioned to the nanochannel, the pair of sensing electrodes configured to sequentially read monomers of the molecule
- a top high-k dielectric material separating the nanochannel from both the first top electrode and the second top electrode, such that the first top electrode and the second top electrode do not form the nanochannel;
- a bottom high-k dielectric material separating the nanochannel from both the first bottom electrode and the second bottom electrode, such that the first bottom electrode and the second bottom electrode do not form the nanochannel.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.