Assembly of Microsized Colloidal Particles on Electrostatic Regions Patterned through Ion Beam Irradiation

Abstract

The fabrication of microstructures with micrometer and submicrometer scale patterns is of importance in wide fields of applications, such as electronics, photonics, magnetics, microactuators, and biochemical devices. In this paper, a novel assembly method of particles based on electrostatic force is proposed and subjected to examination. A positively electrified and stable pattern was formed on an insulating substrate by drawing with a focused ion beam. The substrate was immersed in a suspension in which microsized particles were dispersed in a nonpolar solvent. The particles were selectively deposited on the electrified pattern and were fixed on the substrate by heating. The developed method based on an electrophotographic technique enables fabricating microstructures assembled with micrometer particles.