Dielectrophoretic assembly of ordered nanostructures: Harnessing thermal randomness and inter-particle interactions

If sufficiently developed, directed assembly of engineered nanostructures could revolutionize the manufacture of integrated devices. We describe the assembly of metallic and heterostructured nanowires into ordered arrays, and show that such assembly can be controlled by balancing the various relevant energy scales in the process in a manner analogous to crystal growth. These assemblies offer examples of structures that could be applicable to next-generation sensors and electronics.