Manipulating InAs nanowires with submicrometer precision

InAs nanowires are grown epitaxially by catalyst-free metal organic vapor phase epitaxy and are subsequently positioned with a lateral accuracy of less than 1 mu m using simple adhesion forces between the nanowires and an indium tip. The technique, requiring only an optical microscope, is used to place individual nanowires onto the corner of a cleaved-edge wafer as well as across predefined holes in Si3N4 membranes. The precision of the method is limited by the stability of the micromanipulators and the precision of the optical microscope. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3657135]