Nanorobotic Manipulation of Microspheres for On-Chip Diamond Architectures

Diamond-like structures with micrometer-size periodicity have been fabricated by means of nanorobotic manipulation of microspheres (see cover). The technique enables the preparation of macroporous lattices, and opens the way to controllable formation of a wide variety of microstructures and thus provides a new route to the study of novel lattices with photonic properties. The Figure shows a “diamond” lattice made of 0.9 μm silica spheres.