Precise control of the structure of matter at
the nanometer scale will have revolutionary
implications for science and technology.
Nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS)
will be extremely small and fast, and have
applications that range from cell repair to
ultrastrong materials. One approach for
the construction of such nanostructures is
assembly from molecular-sized components.
Although regular, symmetric patterns of
nanoparticles can be constructed by self-
assembly, many of the possible applications
require asymmetric shapes. Several methods
have been proposed to construct such
structures. Among these, a promising
strategy is the use of the scanning force
microscope (SFM) as a manipulation tool
to move nanoparticles and nanostructures
without the restrictions imposed by the
physics of self-assembly (1-5).