CAREER: Manipulating Microcomponents for Self-Assembly-Based Manufacturing and Chromatography

Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

ECCS-0644245 Carol Livermore-Clifford, MIT This CAREER proposal focuses on a selective microcomponent manipulation process called templated assembly by selective removal (TASR), its applications for manufacturing complex microsystems by self-assembly, and its use for filtering and chromatography. The intellectual merit of this work lies in the creation and understanding of flexible, broadly-applicable micro and nanomanufacturing techniques based on TASR, and in the creation of the practical systems such as optically-based sensors that it enables. TASR simultaneously and selectively organizes diverse, small-scale (100 nanometer to 10 micron) components from fluid into shape- and size-matched holes in a substrate. The topography of the substrate is prepatterned, and the surface is coated to promote component-substrate adhesion. Selectivity is ensured by applying megahertz frequency ultrasonic excitation; the resulting quantitatively-describable, controllable fluid forces preferentially remove components from poorly-matched holes while leaving them in the well-matched holes in which they are more strongly attached. One key research topic is the selective placement of components of different shapes, materials, and hardnesses. Well-characterized experiments and quantitative analytic models will elucidate TASR's capabilities and limits. A second key research topic is the creation of economical template hardware to guide the selective manipulation process. The final major research topic is the application of the TASR approach to create functional systems. TASR offers extremely high selectivity based on differences in size and shape along with a rapid means of assembling systems of diverse components that are hard to create by traditional top-down techniques. The broader impacts of this work are in the integration of educational and research activities and in the broad dissemination of tools produced in the research. Educational activities include the creation of undergraduate laboratory curriculum pertaining to self-assembly, research opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students, and the creation, implementation, and dissemination of research-related materials for outreach to underrepresented high school students.