Nanopores in suspended WS$_2$ membranes for DNA sequencing

Recent advances in solid-state nanopore sensor systems for DNA detection and analysis have been supported by using increasingly thinner materials to the point of utilizing atomically thin two-dimensional materials such as graphene and MoS$_2$. However, these materials still have issues with pore wettability and signal-to-noise ratios displayed in DNA translocation measurements. Recently, the fabrication and operation of nanopores in MoS$_2$ have been demonstrated, but the wetting properties and signal-to-noise ratios of transition metal dichalcogenides are yet to be understood and further improved. Here we fabricate suspended WS$_2$ nanopore devices with sub-10 nm pore diameters using a novel nanomaterial transfer method and TEM nanosculpting to study and better understand nanopore wetting properties and performance in DNA translocation measurements.