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Directed assembly of nanowires

26 May 2009
Michael C.P. Wang and Byron D. Gates

Nanowires of a diverse range of compositions with tailored physical properties can be produced through synthetic means. These structures have been used as key components in flexible electronics, electronic logic gates, renewable energy technologies, and biological or gas sensing applications. Integrating these nanostructures into device or technology platforms will complement existing nanofabrication procedures by broadening the types of nanostructured materials that are utilized in device fabrication. This integration requires an ability to assemble these nanowires as controllable building blocks. Techniques are being developed that can quickly manipulate large quantities of nanowires through parallel processes.

Fabrication using wire-like nanostructures is sometimes pursued out of necessity. An example is the high density of features required for state-of-the-art circuitry that dictates the widths of many electronic connections. However, nanowires can also be pursued for their properties that can be exploited in the fabrication of new functional materials or devices. A diverse range of properties is accessible through the numerous types of nanowires that can be produced by synthetic efforts. Integrating these nanowires as key components will require the development of appropriate methods to assemble these materials. These techniques complement many different approaches to nanofabrication. This review will discuss a few of the approaches being pursued for directing the assembly of nanowires into various device architectures.

 

This article is featured in:
Nanotechnology