Towards Single Molecule Manipulation with Dielectrophoresis Using Nanoelectrodes

We present measurements of the scaling of the dielectrophoresis force with electrode size and particle size, in order to determine the ultimate size limits for dielectrophoresis at the nanoscale. To demonstrate the feasibility of nano-manipulation we present studies on the dielectrophoretic manipulation of DNA with microfabricated electrodes using RF electric fields. We find that DNA undergoes positive dielectrophoresis (i.e. the DNA is attracted to high electric field regions) at frequencies between 500 kHz and 1 MHz. We present a nano-manipulation array platform which demonstrates the scalability of these concepts for massively parallel, economic manipulation at the molecular scale. Finally, based on these measurements, we present a concept for a nanomotor using nanotube electrodes. Applications in molecular electronics and molecular manufacturing are discussed.