Nanopatterning and nanomaterials: an integrated top down - bottom up approach to nanofabrication

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Nature has the ability to produce structures that are finer in detail than the reach of humankind. For example the elaborate pattern of frost that appears on a single pane window on a winter's day self-assembles through the subtle interactions between water molecules and the glass surface. Similarly, in our lab, we guide nature to make metallic wires (nanowires) that are a hundred times thinner than what is possible by conventional means. Our lab, along with many others world wide, have developed many of these nanomaterials that have unique electronic properties. The question is how to build these materials into circuits or devices, or how to electrically interface the nanoworld with our macro world. In the parlance of nanotechnology, self-assembly is a "bottom up" approach to making nanometer scale structures, while the current microelectronic industry is based on lithography and thin film growth that are "top down" methods for making electrical circuits. Development of nanoscale electronics will rely on a combination of bottom up and top down fabrication. We are developing an integrated combination of these techniques to make and to study nanostructures that are built into circuits for electrical testing. These techniques will be applicable to broad classes of electronic nanomaterials and will enable the development of future nanodevices.