Control of Three Dimensional Transport of Nano-blocks by Amplitude Modulated Pulse RF Discharges using an Electrode with Needles

We have proposed a bottom-up nanosystem-fabrication method, which consists of production of nano-blocks and radicals (adhesives) in reactive plasmas, transport of nano-blocks towards a substrate, their arrangement on the substrate using pulse RF discharges with the amplitude modulation (AM) of discharge voltage. In this study, we report transport of nano-blocks by AM discharges using an electrode with needles. During the modulation period, nano-blocks are transported from their generation region near the powered electrode towards a needle of the electrode at a velocity of 9.8 cm/s due to ion drag force towards the needle, indicating that the method utilizing the pulse RF discharges with AM is a promising one for control of nano-block transport in three dimensions.