Currently in the research field of nanostructure fabrication there is perhaps as much an emphasis on making simpler and less costly fabrication processes as there is on making smaller nanostructures. Fabrication methods that are notable for their ease of use (as compared to conventional planar microfabrication processing) include soft lithography with self-assembled monolayers (SAM), nanoimprint lithography, self-assembly of colloidal crystals, dip pen nanolithography with SAM inks, and electrostatically-driven self-assembled texturing of melted polymers. In the same vein as these enabling methods, we have recently identified and are developing a novel approach that is based on the directed assembly of polymer fibers from liquid polymers. The method takes advantage of the surprising ease, speed, and resistance to breakage of the drawing of polymer fibers of micron and nanometer diameters. Under atomic force microscope (AFM) control, fibers are quickly drawn and positioned to form freestanding three-dimensional filamentary structures. The structures by themselves, or with subsequent processing steps, can serve as microscale electrical, optical, mechanical, and fluidic devices. We envision that AFM-directed assembly of custom polymer networks, due to its simplicity and low cost, can make the fabrication and development of prototype microdevices more widely accessible to users outside of the traditional microfabrication disciplines. |