Bottom up methods for nano building blocks

October 2011

A lack of suitable bottom-up fabrication methods which allow for the assembly of custom-defined nanostructures impedes the integration of a plethora of new nanoparticulate building blocks into everyday devices in applications such as electronics, optoelectronics, sensing and photovoltaics. Associate Professor Udo Bach from Monash University is aiming to develop bottom-up fabrication methods for nanoparticles which have properties that are generally superior to lithographically defined structures.

He aims to achieve this by combining existing top-down nanofabrication techniques with novel self-assembly and printing methods to develop novel cost-effective ways of producing nanoparticle assemblies with well-defined configurations. To achieve this, he will utlise a series of MCN’s tools such as electron beam lithography, reactive ion etching and atomic layer deposition.

This work helps to build a knowledge base in a research area that is believed to hold the key for future manufacturing methods, while it is also useful for the improvement of novel photovoltaic technologies that are currently developed within the Victorian Consortium for Organic Solar Cells for the next generation of low-cost solar cells.