Patent ID: 7235184

Claim:
A method of forming a membrane structure for use in a device to characterize polymer molecules, comprising: providing a support substrate of a predetermined material; depositing a thin film on the support substrate comprising: providing a first layer of electrically conductive material having a predetermined pattern; removing a predetermined amount of the first layer of electrically conductive material so that when a nano-scale channel is bored, the remainder of the first layer of electrically conductive material is separated into a plurality of conductive leads; providing a layer of dielectric material; providing a second layer of electrically conductive material having a predetermined pattern, where the dielectric material separates the first layer of electrically conductive material from the second layer of electrically conductive material; and removing a predetermined amount of the second layer of electrically conductive material so that when the nano-scale channel is bored, the remainder of the second layer of electrically conductive material is separated into a plurality of conductive leads; etching a hole through the support substrate that removes all of the material in a predetermined area so that the thin film is self supporting over the predetermined area; and boring a nano-scale channel through a self supporting portion of the thin film, wherein the boring is performed in one step, and further wherein the channel diameter is capable of being the final diameter of the channel through the self supporting portion of the thin film.