NIRT: Fabrication of Functional Architectures through the Directed Assembly of Nanoscale Building Blocks

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AbstractThis proposal was received in response to Nanoscale Science and Engineering initiative, NSF 03-043, category NIRT. This program will utilize nanolithographically-patterned arrays to direct the assembly of nanoscale magnetic building blocks into specific architectures. These ordered assemblies will be designed for applications in high frequency, magnetotransport, and mechanical devices. Micromagnetics modeling of individual and collective properties, along with feedback from property measurements, will allow for an active refinement of architectural designs. As scientists develop materials with smaller and smaller sizes, there is a need to be able to integrate these tiny elements into devices of technological significance. In this program, very small components (much smaller than a human hair) will be assembled into ordered arrays by placing them onto surfaces that have specific grooved patterns. The grooves will serve to capture the components (e.g. small metal wires) in specific orientations. These arrangements will then be of interest for potential applications in communication or magnetic devices such as those important to cellular phones and computer hard drives, respectively. Additionally, an outreach component will involve both high school teachers and undergraduates from underrepresented groups in a nanoscience summer research program.