Nanoelectronic atomization for atomic emission spectroscopy on a chip

We report electrically-induced, explosive atomization of metals and analytes at nanoscale. The phenomenon involves formation of highly-localized nanoscale leakage channels in the oxide layer of a metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) structure under pulsed drive, ballistic transport of injected electrons in the nanoscale void channels, impact ionization of metal atoms, and explosive atomization of metal and adjacent analyte materials. The fragmented atoms produce atomic luminescence from radiative transitions in the relaxation process. This electrically induced explosive atomization through nanochannels offers a potential for nanoscale elemental/trace analysis on a chip.