Concept for Assembling Individual Nanostructure-Based Components into Complex Devices

Minute electronic (bio)devices will likely play an increasingly important role in everyday life and beyond, as overall device size often limits device functionality and applicability, a factor especially critical for brain implants. Recent progress in micro- and nanoelectronics has enabled the production of nanoscale electronic components; however, overall device size is often defined by technical and technological limitations, in particular, the ability to combine heterogeneous components made using incompatible processes on different substrates. Here, the authors suggest and evaluate a concept and approach aimed at the direct three-dimensional assembly of individual nanoscale-based components into complex devices for brain implants. They demonstrate this assembly possibility via the transfer of free-standing GaP nanowires, as well as test devices made of gold film which exhibit good quality electrical contacts. The key features essential for such a functional assembly process are discussed. The authors expect this approach to be generic and to enable the development of complex minute electronic (bio)devices based on nanoscale components. The proposed type of assembly may be especially beneficial for devices with strict size constraints, such as implantable neural interfaces.