journal article·2026-06Open access

Heterogeneous Multilayer Nanopores via Chemically Tuned Dielectric Breakdown for Single‐Molecule Sensing

Chaoming Gu, Kamruzzaman Joty, Navod Thyashan, Ivan Vlassiouk, Liam Collins, Xingye Zhang, Christopher T. Nelson, Nathan Taton, Sangyoup Lee, Min Jun Kim

Small· Volume 22· Issue 36

Abstract

ABSTRACT Solid‐state nanopores are powerful platforms for single‐molecule sensing, yet their performance is often constrained by fabrication complexity, noise, and limited control over surface properties. Here we report a direct method to fabricate heterogeneous multilayer nanopores using chemically tuned controlled dielectric breakdown (CT‐CDB). We integrate hBN, MoS 2 , or graphene atop a silicon nitride membrane to form five distinct bilayer and tri‐layer architectures, with bare SiN x nanopore as a control. CT‐CDB achieves pore formation reproducibly through material‐stacks with high efficiency, good pore size control, and strong yield, validated by various characterizations. Transferrin protein translocation experiments, supported by simulations, reveal that multilayer configurations modulate protein conformations, ionic current blockade and dwell time distributions, reflecting combined effects of membrane type, interfacial chemistry, and local electric field gradients. A supervised machine learning framework is implemented to assist identifying multilayer structure effects embedded in signal signatures, with over 96% accuracy. This work presents a modular and scalable framework for functional nanopore engineering with complex structural integration, thereby expanding the potential of 2D materials in single‐molecule sensing applications.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Nanopore and Nanochannel Transport Studies · Anodic Oxide Films and Nanostructures · Silicon Nanostructures and Photoluminescence

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Department of Mechanical Engineering Southern Methodist University Dallas Texas USA

Center For Nanophase Materials Sciences Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge Tennessee USA

College of Information Science and Electronic Engineering Zhejiang University Hangzhou Zhejiang China

Department of Chemistry Southern Methodist University Dallas Texas USA

Bionic Research Center Biomedical Research Division Korea Institute of Science and Technology Seoul Republic of Korea

Funding

National Institutes of Health · National Research Foundation of Korea · Ministry of Science and ICT, South Korea

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