Patent ID: 8361297

Claim:
A method of assembling structures at predetermined locations on a substrate surface, the method comprising: providing a substrate assembly, the substrate assembly having the substrate surface, the substrate assembly including spaced-apart electrodes, the spaced-apart electrodes including a pair of electrodes having an electrode gap therebetween, the pair of electrodes being covered by a dielectric layer, the substrate assembly further having topographic features, the topographic features being depressions in the substrate surface; exposing the substrate surface to a fluid suspension of the structures; and applying an alternating voltage between the spaced-apart electrodes so as to attract the structures towards the substrate surface, the topographic features locating the structures at the predetermined locations on the substrate surface, the alternating voltage inducing an electric field, the electric field having electric field gradients that preferentially attract the structures to the depressions in the substrate surface, the structures being centered relative to the electrode gap by electrostatic forces between the structures and the spaced-apart electrodes, positional registration of the structures on the substrate surface being provided by the topographic features.