Nanobiotechnologist Creates Self-Assembling Nano-Electronics Exhibiting Complex Geometric Behavior

Mutidisciplinary scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed a process for mixing polymers which results in self-assembly into nanoscale patterns that can turn corners and display other complex geometries. Reported in the journal Science, chemical and biological engineer Paul Nealey describes how previous research demonstrated a lithographc technique for creating patterns in the chemistry of polymeric materials used as templates for nanomanufacturing. In their previous report, Nealey deposited a film of block copolymers on a chemically patterned surface such that the molecules arranged themselves to replicate the underlying pattern without imperfections. Now he goes further. Although the previous technique works well for creating templates that are neatly ordered in periodic arrays, one of the challenges of nanofabrication is integrating these self-assembling materials, which naturally form periodic structures, into existing manufacturing strategies. View his report.