Dielectrophoretic Assembly of Electrically Functional Microwires from Nanoparticle Suspensions

作者：Kevin D. Hermanson, Simon O. Lumsdon, Jacob P. Williams, Eric W. Kaler, Orlin D. Velev · 发表于：Science · 年份：2001 · DOI：10.1126/science.1063821 · 被引用次数：562 · 研究领域：Microfluidic and Bio-sensing Technologies、Electrowetting and Microfluidic Technologies、Near-Field Optical Microscopy

A new class of microwires can be assembled by dielectrophoresis from suspensions of metallic nanoparticles. The wires are formed in the gaps between planar electrodes and can grow faster than 50 micrometers per second to lengths exceeding 5 millimeters. They have good ohmic conductance and automatically form electrical connections to conductive islands or particles. The thickness and the fractal dimension of the wires can be controlled, and composite wires with a metallic core surrounded by a latex shell can be assembled. The simple assembly process and their high surface-to-volume ratio make these structures promising for wet electronic and bioelectronic circuits.