Wafer Level Assembly of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Arrays with Precise Positioning

A novel wafer level assembly method to fabricate Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube (SWCNT) arrays with precise positioning of the individual SWCNT by dielectrophoresis (DEP) is proposed and validated. Unlike previous CNT assembly performed directly between the guiding electrode pairs, in this work, by means of patterned trenches in some unique “sandwich”-like resist layers, super-aligned SWCNT arrays with controllable density and location can be achieved on various electrode dimensions and geometries. We demonstrate very high densities (~100 million/cm) of doubly clamped suspended SWCNT arrays, which is two orders of magnitude higher than earlier works. This self-assembled technique could enable a precise positioning with deep sub-micron control at the wafer level for the fabrication of future NEMS devices, such as SWCNT resonator arrays for RF or sensing applications.