Figure 3.

Nanowire alignment techniques. (a) Superlattice template for nanowire patterning: first, a thin layer of metal is deposited on the superlattice while it was tilted at 368; then, the metal layer is brought into contact with an adhesive layer on a semiconductor substrate; finally, metal nanowires are released on the substrate by removing the superlattice and adhesive layer. The thickness of the metal layer is the diameter of the nanowires. (b) Langmuir–Blodgett alignment: nanowires mixed with a surfactant are deposited onto the air/water interface in a Langmuir trough; then, the compression of the nanowires into oriented arrays is achieved by moving a barrier across the air/water interface. (c) Microfluidic flow induced alignment: nanowires are aligned into parallel arrays on a flat substrate by flowing nanowire suspensions in a microfluidic channel. (d) Electrofluidic alignment: nanowires in a dielectric medium are polarized by applying an alternating electric field in the kilohertz range and aligned between two guiding electrodes.