RESEARCH OVERVIEW

IRG 1

IRG 2

IRG 3

RESEARCH NUGGETS

FACULTY LABS

RESEARCH: IRG 2

Hybrid Top-down and Bottom-up manufacturing

Concurrent to the development of top-down nanomanufacturing technology, SINAM will develop a unique technology, Hybrid Top-down and Bottom-up Process (HTBP), that combines the best aspects of top-down and bottom-up techniques for massively parallel integration of heterogeneous nano components into higher-order structures and devices. HTBP assembles by “pick-and-place” the nanoscale functional components, namely nano-LEGOs, into a defined pattern (a top-down approach); then the functional molecules attached to the nano-LEGOs can start to “glue” the adjacent nano-LEGOs by self-assembly, thus forming a stable structure (a bottom-up approach). Depending on designed functionalities, the nano-LEGOs can be in the form of nano-wire, quantum dots, DNA, protein, and other functional entities.

HTBP technology has distinct advantages. First, it provides a massive parallel assembly of nano-LEGOs with a high production rate, in addition to the ability to organize the nanostructures into a desired pattern. Second, HTBP can integrate heterogeneous nanostructures. Third, it allows precisely controlling the destiny of the nano-LEGOs, therefore minimizing the generation of defects commonly found in self-assembly. Finally, HTBP promises a multi-scale assembly technique by linking the dimensions from nano and micro to macro world (Fig 5). Therefore, HTBP has the potential to lead to cost-effective manufacturing of more complex structures.