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Using magnetic levitation for 2D and 3D self‐assembly of cubic silicon macroparticles
Author(s) -
Woldering Léon A.,
Been Auke J.,
Alink Laurens,
Abelmann Leon
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
physica status solidi (rrl) – rapid research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.786
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1862-6270
pISSN - 1862-6254
DOI - 10.1002/pssr.201510298
Subject(s) - silicon , nanomagnet , nanotechnology , fabrication , microfabrication , materials science , self assembly , cube (algebra) , levitation , magnet , mechanical engineering , optoelectronics , physics , engineering , magnetic field , geometry , pathology , mathematics , medicine , magnetization , alternative medicine , quantum mechanics
Today's micro‐ and nano‐fabrication is essentially two‐dimensional, with very limited possibilities of accessing the third dimension. The most viable way to mass‐fabricate functional structures at the nano‐scale, such as electronics or MEMS, with equal feature sizes in all directions, is by three‐dimensional self‐assembly. Up to now, three‐dimensional self‐assembly has mainly been restricted to crystals of polymer spheres. We report on two‐ and three‐dimensional self‐assembly of silicon cubes, levitated in a paramagnetic fluid. We demonstrate the benefits of templating and study the effect of a change in hydrophilicity of the cubes. These experiments bring us one step closer to three‐dimensional self‐assembly of anisotropic, semiconducting units, which is a crucial milestone in overcoming the scaling limits imposed by contemporary 2D microfabrication.Levitated assembly of silicon cubes. (© 2016 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)