Dielectrophoretic assembly of carbon nanofiber nanoelectromechanical devices

We report a technique for the assembly of bottom-up nanomechanical devices. This technique employs the dielectrophoretic manipulation of nanostructures within a multiple layer lithography process. Mechanical resonators were specifically produced by assembling and clamping tubular carbon fibers onto prefabricated pads. Our preliminary results showed that an assembled cantilevered fiber with length L=5 μm and width of W=180 nm possessed a resonant frequency of f=1.17 MHz. A shorter L=3-μm-long singly clamped resonator of similar width showed a resonance of f=3.12 MHz. This frequency range is in agreement with the low gigapascal bending moduli previously reported for carbon structures showing extensive volume defects. This technology would allow the integration of bottom-up nanostructures with other more established fabrication processes, thus allowing the deployment of engineered nanodevices in integrated systems.