title: Rapid fabrication and piezoelectric tuning of micro- and nanopores in single crystal quartz.
abstract: We outline the fabrication of piezoelectric through-pores in crystalline quartz using a rapid micromachining process, and demonstrate piezoelectric deformation of the pore. The single-step fabrication technique combines ultraviolet (UV) laser irradiation with a thin layer of absorbing liquid in contact with the UV-transparent quartz chip. The effects of different liquid media are shown. We demonstrate that small exit pores, with diameters nearing the 193 nm laser wavelength and with a smooth periphery, can be achieved in 350 μm thick quartz wafers. Special crater features centring on the exit pores are also fabricated, and the depth of these craters are tuned. Moreover, by applying a voltage bias across the thickness of this piezoelectric wafer, we controllably contract and expand the pore diameter. We also provide a sample application of this device by piezoelectrically actuating alamethicin ion channels suspended over the deformable pore.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA. estava@wisc.edu
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stava
authors.forename: Minrui
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Hyun Cheol
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Hyuncheol
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Dustin J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Kreft
authors.forename: Robert H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Blick