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Flow-assisted Dielectrophoresis: A Low Cost Method for the Fabrication of High Performance Solution-processable Nanowire Devices
Published on: December 7, 2017
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Manufacturing a nanowire-based sensing system via flow-guided assembly in a microchannel array template.
Juan Chen1, Yingbo Zu, Kartik Kumar Rajagopalan
1Chemical Engineering, Louisiana Tech University, 911 Hergot Ave, Ruston, LA, USA. Institute for Micromanufacturing, Louisiana Tech University, 911 Hergot Ave, Ruston, LA, USA.
Nanotechnology
|May 21, 2015
Summary
A new flow-guided assembly method creates aligned nanowire arrays for large-scale manufacturing. This technique enables high-throughput production of conductive carbon nanowires for sensitive electronic sensors.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Microfluidics
Background:
- Precise alignment of nanowires is crucial for advanced electronic devices.
- Existing methods often lack scalability and high throughput.
- Microfluidic techniques offer potential for controlled material assembly.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel, high-throughput method for fabricating aligned nanowire arrays.
- To demonstrate the capability of this method for large-scale patterning.
- To evaluate the performance of the fabricated nanowires in sensing applications.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing microfluidic channels filled with polymer solution.
- Employing gas flow to guide polymer assembly into nanowires along channel walls.
- Converting polymer nanowires to conductive carbon nanowires via carbonization.
- Integrating carbon nanowires into electronic sensor platforms.
Main Results:
- Successfully produced millimetre-long nanowires with controlled orientation over a 5x12 mm area.
- Demonstrated patterning capabilities for 'I-shape', 'T-shape', and 'cross' configurations.
- Achieved high sensitivity in model protein sensing tests using the fabricated nanowire sensors.
Conclusions:
- The flow-guided assembly approach offers a simple, low-cost, and reliable method for manufacturing aligned nanowire arrays.
- This technique facilitates large-scale production with high throughput.
- The developed nanowires show promise for advanced sensing systems and electronic devices.
