"NANOTECH:Nanoscale devices self-assemble through magnetism"
Nanoscale devices have been "self-assembled" in the lab to demonstrate everything from a single-molecule transistor to a computer-in-a-test-tube. But with no way to self- assemble a complex system, they remain laboratory curiosities. Magnetic self-assembly, argue its inventors at Drexel University (Chicago), could bridge the gap by filling in predefined areas on already fabricated silicon wafers with arrays of molecular-size devices. The technique uses colloidal superparamagnetic nanoparticles to populate specific areas of a wafer with molecular devices at room temperature.
Audio Interviews / Text: http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20031201S0075