Abstract

Fluidic self-assembly can provide the vital step in the fabrication of chip-sized optical MEMS for a wide variety of applications. Nature herself provides an inspirational model for fluidic self-assembly, as well as useful guidelines for processes that can be employed to build microsystems. In this review article, we describe some achievements in assembly that have already been demonstrated, including our own research on fluidic self-assembly of micromirrors for an adaptive-optics array. The results reported to date lead us to predict significant growth in the applications to microsystems of fluidic self-assembly techniques.

© 2002 Optical Society of America