Dresden 2017 – scientific programme

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DS: Fachverband Dünne Schichten

DS 39: Thin Film Applications

DS 39.6: Talk

Thursday, March 23, 2017, 10:45–11:00, CHE 91

Nanostructured Freestanding Silicon Nitride Membranes for Field Electron Emission Based Detectors in Mass Spectrometry — •Stefanie Haugg, Chris Thomason, Christian Henkel, Robert Zierold, and Robert H. Blick — Institute of Nanostructure and Solid State Physics, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

Freestanding nanomembranes can potentially be utilized in the detector unit of commercial time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometers because of their (i) quasi-dynamic mode of vibration or (ii) phonon-assisted field electron emission properties.[1]

Herein, rod-shaped nanostructures on freestanding silicon nitride membranes have been processed via a top-down approach using gold nanodots as hard mask for subsequent reactive ion etching. We show that geometrically enhanced field electron emission can be observed—in a emitter-grid-anode test setup connected to a transimpedance amplifier—on such nanostructured membranes compared to their planar counterparts.

Moreover, we employ microchannel plates for signal amplification of field electron emission from our nanostructured membranes. This configuration offers the possibility to combine sample characterization with TOF mass spectrometry measurements without changing the setup.

[1] Park, J.& Blick, R. H. A silicon nanomembrane detector for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) of large proteins. Sensors 13 (2013)