Nanostructures having low defect density and methods of forming thereof
A method of forming nanostructure comprises forming self-assembled nucleic acids on at least a portion of a substrate. The method further comprises contacting the self-assembled nucleic acids on the at least a portion of a substrate with a solution comprising at least one repair enzyme to repair defects in the self-assembled nucleic acids. The method may comprise repeating the repair of defects in the self-assembled nucleic acids on the at least a portion of a substrate until a desired, reduced threshold level of defect density is achieved. A semiconductor structure comprises a pattern of self-assembled nucleic acids defining a template having at least one aperture therethrough. At least one of the apertures has a dimension of less than about 50 nm.
1. A method of forming a nanostructure, comprising:
forming a pattern of self-assembled nucleic acids on at least a portion of a substrate; and
exposing the pattern of self-assembled nucleic acids on the at least a portion of a substrate to at least one repair enzyme to repair defects in the self-assembled nucleic acids.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein forming a pattern of self-assembled nucleic acids on at least a portion of a substrate comprises:
forming the self-assembled nucleic acids on the substrate; and
selectively removing portions of the self-assembled nucleic acids to form the pattern of self-assembled nucleic acids on the at least a portion of a substrate.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein forming a pattern of self-assembled nucleic acids on at least a portion of a substrate comprises contacting at least a portion of the substrate with a solution comprising the self-assembled nucleic acids.
4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising repeating the contacting at least a portion of the substrate with a solution comprising the self-assembled nucleic acids until a desired thickness of the self-assembled nucleic acids is obtained.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising transferring the pattern of self-assembled nucleic acids to the at least a portion of the substrate.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein transferring the pattern of self-assembled nucleic acids to the at least a portion of the substrate comprises forming a corresponding pattern on the substrate, the corresponding pattern on the substrate comprising at least one dimension less than about 50 nm.
7. A method of forming a nanostructure, comprising:
forming self-assembled nucleic acids on at least a portion of a substrate, the self-assembled nucleic acids exhibiting an initial defect density;
contacting the self-assembled nucleic acids on the at least a portion of a substrate with a solution comprising at least one repair enzyme to repair defects in the self-assembled nucleic acids; and
repeating the repair of defects in the self-assembled nucleic acids until a desired, reduced threshold level of defect density is achieved.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein contacting the self-assembled nucleic acids on the at least a portion of a substrate with a solution comprising at least one repair enzyme comprises:
contacting the self-assembled nucleic acids on the at least a portion of the substrate with a first solution comprising a first repair enzyme; and
contacting the self-assembled nucleic acids on the at least a portion of the substrate with a second solution comprising a second repair enzyme.
9. A method of decreasing a defect density in self-assembled nucleic acids on at least a portion of a substrate, the method comprising:
repairing defects in self-assembled nucleic acids on at least a portion of a substrate by exposure to at least one repair enzyme.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein repairing defects in self-assembled nucleic acids on at least a portion of a substrate comprises:
exposing the self-assembled nucleic acids on the at least a portion of the substrate to more than one repair enzyme simultaneously.
11. The method of claim 9 , wherein repairing defects in self-assembled nucleic acids on at least a portion of a substrate comprises:
exposing the self-assembled nucleic acids on the at least a portion of the substrate to one repair enzyme and, subsequently, to at least one other repair enzyme.
12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the method comprises repeating the repair of defects in the self-assembled nucleic acids on the at least a portion of the substrate by exposure to the at the least one repair enzyme to reduce defect density.
13. The method of claim 9 , wherein the self-assembled nucleic acids comprise a member selected from the group consisting of self-assembled multi-stranded nucleic acids, self-assembled scaffolded nucleic acids, and self-assembled single-stranded nucleic acids.
14. The method of claim 9 , wherein the at least one repair enzyme comprises an enzyme in a metallo-β-lactamase superfamily, a haloacid dehalogenase superfamily, or an Fe (II)/α-ketoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase superfamily.
15. The method of claim 9 , wherein the at least one repair enzyme comprises an enzyme selected from the group consisting of β-lactamase, oxidoreductase (rubredoxin/oxygen, ROO), glyoxalase II, and artemis/DNA nuclease.
16. The method of claim 9 , wherein the at least one repair enzyme comprises an enzyme selected from the group consisting of haloacid dehalogenase, phosphonatase, Ca 2+ -ATpase, and DNA 3′-phosphatase.
17. The method of claim 9 , wherein the at least one repair enzyme comprises an enzyme selected from the group consisting of clavimate synthase, isopenicillin synthase, taurine dioxygenase, and AlkB.
18. The method of claim 7 , wherein forming self-assembled nucleic acids on at least a portion of a substrate comprises forming the self-assembled nucleic acids comprising ribonucleic acid (RNA) strands, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) strands, peptide nucleic acid (PNA) strands, or combinations thereof.
19. A method of forming a nanostructure, comprising:
forming a mask comprising a pattern of self-assembled nucleic acids over at least a portion of a substrate surface;
removing at least one portion of the substrate exposed through the pattern of the mask; and
exposing the pattern of self-assembled nucleic acids to at least one repair enzyme to repair defects in the self-assembled nucleic acids.
20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising removing the mask by a heat treatment at a temperature of from about 90° C. to about 200° C., or by an acidic solution.
21. A method of forming a nanostructure, comprising:
forming a mask comprising a pattern of self-assembled nucleic acids over at least a portion of a substrate surface;
forming a nanocomponent on at least a portion of the substrate exposed through the pattern of the mask, the nanocomponent comprising a material selected from the group consisting of nanowires, gold nanoparticles, semiconductive quantum dots, and fluorescent quantum dots; and
contacting the pattern of self-assembled nucleic acids with a solution comprising at least one repair enzyme to repair defects in the self-assembled nucleic acids, prior to forming the nanocomponent on the at least a portion of the substrate exposed through the pattern of the mask.
22. The method of claim 21 , further comprising removing the self-assembled nucleic acids after forming the nanocomponent on the at least a portion of the substrate exposed through the pattern of the mask.