Nanofabrication by Self-Assembly

Abstract

Nanotechnology is the fabrication and application of devices (i.e., nanoelectromechanical systems—NEMS) with dimensions below 100 nm in at least one direction. It uses two radically different approaches, top–down and bottom–up processes. Top–down nanofabrication is similar to microfabrication, building patterned layers above each other. Bottom–up nanofabrication, on the other hand, takes advantage of molecular self-assembly, with molecules autonomously “growing” into nanostructures. Typical instances of self-assembly are self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), with the most prominent example, the assembly of thiolate compounds on gold. Directed self-assembly of nanoparticles combines self-organization and a patterning of a substrate to define areas where the self-assembly shall take place. Characteristic self-assembly building blocks are DNA scaffolds, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and block polymers.