Automated process for selection of carbon nanotube by electronic property using dielectrophoretic manipulation

Abstract

This paper presents a novel and an automated selection system to separate carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by their electronic properties using a dielectrophoresis-based method. CNTs have been found as promising materials for nanoelectronics due to their sizes and unique properties. Different CNTs have different electronic properties. Conventional electronic devices that are replaced by specific CNTs can possibly provide better performance and their sizes can be reduced. However, different types of CNTs aggregate together after synthesis processes, so the resulting electronic property of bundled CNTs cannot be predicted easily. Therefore, a novel classification method is necessary to separate different electronic properties of CNTs. Since the size of CNTs is in nanoscale, traditional robotic manipulation cannot be applied. Selection and manipulation of a single CNT with a specific electronic property are challenging. AC electrokinetic assembly is one of the promising methods to manipulate a CNT in the desired position. In this paper, a dielectrophoresis-based method is used to select and manipulate different types of CNTs across microelectrodes. By combining the separation and deposition system, it enables the possibility to manipulate a single CNT precisely and repeatedly, and potentially improve the yield for fabricating CNT based devices. It can also be integrated with a traditional robotic system and implemented in current manufacturing processes. As a result, a fast and batch nano-assembly of consistent nano-devices can be achieved.