Atomic hole punch

摘要

Graphene consists of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in the shape of a hexagon. A graphene membrane with precisely controlled pores has proven tricky to fabricate but could prove useful for the sensitive detection and analysis of single atoms within large molecules such as DNA or proteins. Christopher Russo and Jene Golovchenko (pp. 5953-5957) present a method to create graphene pores with atomic precision in the absence of highly specialized focused beam equipment.