Surface-controlled contact printing for nanowire device fabrication on a large scale

Assembly strategies for functional nanowire devices that merge bottom-up and top-down technologies have been debated for over a decade. Although several breakthroughs have been reported, nanowire device fabrication techniques remain generally incompatible with large-scale and high-yield top-down microelectronics manufacturing. Strategies enabling the controlled transfer of nanowires from the growth substrate to pre-defined locations on a target surface would help to address this challenge. Based on the promising concept of mechanical nanowire transfer, we developed the technique of surface-controlled contact printing, which is based purely on dry friction between a nanowire and a target surface. Surface features, so-called catchers, alter the local frictional force or deposition probability and allow the positioning of single nanowires. Surface-controlled contact printing extends the current scope of nanowire alignment strategies with the intention to facilitate efficient nanowire device fabrication. This is demonstrated by the simultaneous assembly of 36 nanowire resistors within a chip area of greater than 2 cm² aided only by mask-assisted photolithography. (paper)