arXiv subjects

Chih-Yuan Lin

Publications and source records attributed to Chih-Yuan Lin.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Giant and Continuous Ionic Current Oscillation Induced by Dynamic Surface Charge Regulation in Cylindrical Mesopores

Nanofluidic ionic oscillators based on the dynamic regulation of surface charges hold great promise for neuromorphic computing, biosensing, and ionic circuits. Here, by dynamically adjusting the local charge inversion on pore walls, we present a simple and effective strategy to achieve periodic current oscillations by harnessing the transient adsorption and desorption of Ca2+ ions in cylindrical mesopores under concentration gradients. Based on the combined precision current measurements and multiphysics simulations, we demonstrate that local overadsorption of Ca2+ ions may induce asymmetric bipolar charge distributions along the pore axis, which periodically reverses the direction of electroosmotic flow and modulates the local ion concentration inside the pore, generating highly regular current oscillations. Notably, both the oscillation frequency and the open-state probability of the pore vary nearly linearly with the applied voltage. Moreover, under dynamic voltage scanning, the system exhibits typical memristive hysteresis, and the switching between the open and closed states is highly reproducible. This work not only reveals the dynamic, heterogeneous surface charge regulation by divalent ions, but also provides a simple, material agnostic method for constructing ionic oscillators and memristors based on dynamic adsorption/desorption of multivalent ions.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2026

Evolution of Nonlinear Ion Transport in Nanopore Arrays: Ionic Conductance, Current Rectification, and Osmotic Power

Understanding the ionic transport and scaling behaviors in nanopore arrays is essential for bridging fundamental ion physics and blue energy applications. By fabricating sub-3 nm and sub-20 nm diameter nanopore arrays (NPAs) spanning from few pores to N ~ 10000, we systematically investigate ionic conductance, ion current rectification, and osmotic energy conversion. We report the ionic conductance scaling laws and nonlinearity with nanopore number, with stronger deviations from linearity at lower salt concentrations. Experimental evidence reveals that surface-charge-governed conductance and ion current rectification progressively weaken with increasing N and even vanish as the NPA scales up to N ~ 10000, resulting in an underestimation of surface charge density. In a sub-3 nm densely packed array (separation ~ 25 nm), the conductance exhibits an anomalous power-law dependence on concentration, deviating markedly from the single nanopore characteristics, attributed to the strong pore interactions. Furthermore, osmotic power harvesting measurements reveal a substantial reduction in power density upon scaling, with decreases of up to three orders of magnitude over the same range. To elucidate the underlying mechanism, we developed rigorous 3D modeling showing that the nonlinear behavior originates from concentration polarization at pore entrances and suppressed electric field across NPAs, collectively hindering ion transport. Our work provides insight into nonlinear ion-transport scaling and reveals fundamental differences between transport phenomena in single nanopores and nanopore arrays.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Amino Acid Translocation Through a Dual Nanopore Platform

We demonstrate a dual nanopore platform (DNP) containing a top 2D MoS2 pore in series with a 3 to 5 nm thick SiN pore, vertically separated by 30 nm, with diameters of 1.0 and 3.0 nm, respectively. This platform enables independent probing of analytes by each pore, thereby providing complementary information. We measure translocations of single amino acids (AA) and evaluate current blockades recorded across the two pores upon applying voltage. Small diameters ensured tight passage of individual AAs through the nanopores and provided a good signal-tonoise ratio (RMS current noise of 16 pA_RMS and SNR = 6). We focus on measurements of O-Phospho-L-tyrosine at 400 mV, demonstrating single amino acid detection and a good quantitative agreement with the calculated open pore and blocked currents. Based on these results, future device performance can benefit from slightly smaller pores, specifically the SiN pore, higher voltages and electrolyte concentration, and lower system noise.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2025

Uncovering hidden protein conformations with high bandwidth nanopore measurements

Advanced nanopore measurements allow structural probing of molecules with high spatial and temporal resolution. We report high signal-to-noise, 1-10 MHz bandwidth, translocation measurements of the multi-state folding of heme protein cytochrome c in KCl solution through optimally designed silicon nitride pores of 2.3-3.3 nm diameter and 3.6-3.8 nm effective thickness, and an optimal concentration of a denaturant (Gdm-Cl). The pore diameter is slightly smaller than the protein size, forcing the protein to squeeze through the pore. The sufficiently large pore thickness allows enough time for protein probing at an applied field of approximately 250 kV/cm. Through Bayesian Information Criterion score analysis, current blockades reveal six distinct levels, attributed to specific protein states. We calculate the transition probabilities between the states and the conditional probabilities of the protein leaving the pore from each state. We validate the model by simulating events and comparing them to experimental data.

physics.bio-ph↗

arXiv2025

Reversible nanopore sealing and in situ iron oxide nanoparticle synthesis on thin silicon nitride membranes

We report in-situ synthesis of iron oxide particles inside silicon nitride nanopores via a chemical reaction, monitored by current readout. Nanopores were formed by electroporation on glass chips (diameters from 1.7 to 11.3 nm), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) drilling (diameters from 6.5 to 64.6 nm), or hydrofluoric acid (HF) etching (diameters from 12.6 to 36.2 nm) in 5 to 20 nm thick membranes. Nanopores seal on timescales from ~1 ms to ~3.6 s, across a range of sizes and concentrations. We show single and ~5-pore arrays, as fabricated, after sealing, and after cleaning and pore recovery. These results are independent of fabrication method. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), aberration-corrected scanning TEM (AC-STEM), and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) verify the synthesis of mixed magnetite and maghemite iron oxide. This work advances nanoparticle-nanopore chips for applications in biosensing, plasmonics and photonics when position and size control is required.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗