Three dimensional self-assembly at the nanoscale

At the nanoscale, three dimensional manipulation and assembly becomes extremely challenging and also cost prohibitive. Self-assembly provides an attractive and possibly the only highly parallel methodology to structure truly three dimensional patterned materials and devices at this size scale for applications in electronics, optics, robotics and medicine. This is a concise review along with a perspective of an important and exciting field in nanotechnology and is related to a Nanoengineering Pioneer Award that I received at this SPIE symposium for my contributions to the 3D self-assembly of nanostructures. I detail a historical account of 3D self-assembly and outline important developments in this area which is put into context with the larger research areas of 3D nanofabrication, assembly and nanomanufacturing. A focus in this review is on our work as it relates to the self-assembly with lithographically patterned units; this approach provides a means for heterogeneous integration of periodic, curved and angled nanostructures with precisely defined three dimensional patterns.