Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	GR/S44594/01
Title:	Feasibility study: Dielectrophoretic manipulation of nanoparticles for device applications
Principal Investigator:	Hughes, Professor MP
Other Investigators:	Silva, Professor SRP
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:	BP
Department:	Engineering and Physical Sciences
Organisation:	University of Surrey
Scheme:	Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts:	01 October 2003	Ends:	31 March 2005	Value (£):	66,186
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Materials Characterisation Materials Synthesis & Growth
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Electronics
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
Carbon nanotubes (CNT) offer great potential in the development of molecular-scale electronics. We propose to use AC Electrokinetic techniques to characterise and separate different types of nanotubes, and use electrostatically-controlled self-assembly on nanotube structures. This research has great potential in the development of nanotube-based electronics into a commercially viable technology. CNTs offer huge potential to a number of industrial sectors, most significantly to the electronics industry where they may allow the fabrication of transistors significantly smaller than conventioal silicon devices, and with a considerably greater thermal conductivity. However, exploitation of nanotubes is limited by two factors; the positioning of CNTs in precise locations in a large area with selectivity, and by difficulty in sorting between CNTs which are semiconducting or conducting, and between fibres of different lengths; based on existing experimetnal evidence, both of these may potentially be performed by AC electrokinetic methods. The research proposal presented here will seek to establish the feasibility of developing methods of positioning, selecting and separating CNTs using AC electrokinetic techniques, expanding on the limited work performed thus far using DC methods. Specifically, we will develop methods for characterising the electrical properties of nanotubes by dielectrophoretic methods, and develop methods for observation of collected nanotubes by ultramicroscopy.
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Organisation Website:	http://www.surrey.ac.uk