Nanofluidics is the science and technology involving a fluid flowing in or around structures with a least one dimension in the nanoscale, which is defined as the range from 1 nm to 100 nm. In this paper, we present the fabrication and characterization of nanochannels in silicon and glass. Since the lateral dimension of the channels is limited by the wavelength of UV light used in photolithography, the channel width can only be fabricated in the micrometer scale. However, the depth of the channel can be controlled precisely by the etching rate of reactive ion etching (RIE). Microchannels and access holes were etched with deep reactive ion etching (DRIE). Both nanochannels and microchannels were sealed by a Pyrex glass wafer using anodic bonding. The fabricated nanochannels were characterized by capillary filling and evaporation experiments. Due to the small channel height and weak fluorescent signal, fluorescent techniques are not suitable for the characterization of the nanochannels. A long exposure time is needed because of the limited amount of fluorescent molecules inhibit the measurement of transient and dynamic processes. However, as the channel height is shorter than all visible wavelengths, the contrast in refractive indices of air and liquid allows clear visualization of nanochannels filled with liquids. Automatic image processing with matlab allows the evaluation of capillary filling in nanochannels. Interesting phenomena and discrepancies with conventional theories were observed.
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Fabrication and Experimental Characterization of Nanochannels
Chun Yang,
Chun Yang
Division of Thermal and Fluids Engineering,School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nayang Technological University
, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798
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Pierre Joseph,
Pierre Joseph
CNRS, LAAS, 7 Avenue du Colonel Roche, F-31077 Toulouse, France; Université de Toulouse, UPS, INSA, INP, ISAE, LAAS
, F-31077 Toulouse, France
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Anne-Marie Gué
Anne-Marie Gué
CNRS, LAAS, 7 Avenue du Colonel Roche, F-31077 Toulouse, France; Université de Toulouse, UPS, INSA, INP, ISAE, LAAS
, F-31077 Toulouse, France
Search for other works by this author on:
Chun Yang
Division of Thermal and Fluids Engineering,School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nayang Technological University
, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798
Pierre Joseph
CNRS, LAAS, 7 Avenue du Colonel Roche, F-31077 Toulouse, France; Université de Toulouse, UPS, INSA, INP, ISAE, LAAS
, F-31077 Toulouse, France
Anne-Marie Gué
CNRS, LAAS, 7 Avenue du Colonel Roche, F-31077 Toulouse, France; Université de Toulouse, UPS, INSA, INP, ISAE, LAAS
, F-31077 Toulouse, France
J. Heat Transfer. May 2012, 134(5): 051012 (6 pages)
Published Online: April 13, 2012
Article history
Received:
April 25, 2010
Revised:
November 14, 2010
Published:
April 11, 2012
Online:
April 13, 2012
Citation
Phan, V., Nguyen, N., Yang, C., Joseph, P., and Gué, A. (April 13, 2012). "Fabrication and Experimental Characterization of Nanochannels." ASME. J. Heat Transfer. May 2012; 134(5): 051012. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4005702
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