Alignment Optimization of the Dielectrophoresis of Ni Nanowires Through External Magnetic Field

Author(s)

Segat Frare, Bruno Luis ^[1] ; Puydinger dos Santos, Marcos Vinicius ^[1] ; Beron, Fanny ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Estadual Campinas, Inst Phys Glob Wataghin, BR-13083859 Campinas, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: IEEE MAGNETICS LETTERS; v. 10, 2019.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Nanowires are increasingly being used in sensor devices because they are highly sensitive to the environment. Industrial applications take advantage of their shape anisotropy, high aspect ratio, and electronic transport characteristics. The fabrication and characterization of nanowire-based devices require proper control during their deposition, which currently represents a major challenge. Dielectrophoresis (DEP) is a useful technique for nanowire deposition, although it does not guarantee their precise alignment, which must be treated stochastically. In this letter, we combined DEP with an external magnetic field up to 80 kA/m to improve alignment control over Ni nanowires (4 mu m length and 35 nm diameter) during deposition on Pt electrodes. Statistical analysis suggests that the nanowires tend to align along the magnetic field axis. In addition, DEP showed a considerable influence in trapping nanowires at the electrodes because the DEP torque is the greatest in this region, whereas the torque due to the magnetic field is predominant at distances above 10 mu m from the electrodes. Our results can be employed to further investigate the electrical transport properties of nanowires of different materials, as well as for fabricating nanowire-based devices, such as field-effect transistors and nanoelectromechanical system platforms. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 17/10581-1 - Emergent phenomena in reduced dimension systems
• Grantee: Pascoal Jose Giglio Pagliuso
• Support type: Research Projects - Thematic Grants