Asymmetric AC electrophoresis with insulated electrodes: Toward positional control of microand nanoscale devices

This paper demonstrates electrophoresis of silicon micro-rods by applying asymmetric AC bias to two electrodes capped with a thin dielectric film. The silicon micro-rods migrate bi-directionally when asymmetric AC bias is applied to the electrodes. The insulated electrodes significantly contribute to elimination of bubbling and contamination originating from electrochemical reactions, which makes adoption of the technique to mass production processes realistic. This technique is widely applicable to positional control of small objects including micro- and nanoscale devices.