Nanowire position and orientation precisely controlled using fluid flow
(Phys.org) —Scientists from the the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology and the University of Maryland have used a combination of electric fields and fluid flow to precisely move and rotate nanowires, and have demonstrated that this method can be used to manipulate nanowires regardless of whether they are made from dielectric, semiconducting, or metallic materials. Since electro-osmosis, which uses an applied electrostatic potential to move liquid across a fluid channel, is equally effective at moving nanowires regardless of what they are made from, the technique has potential use in a wide variety of applications, including building structures to sense and guide electromagnetic waves, steering nanowire light sources, and guiding nanowires to precisely deliver chemicals to cells.