Patent ID: 6955751

Claim:
A method of forming an array of particles, said method comprising the following steps: providing a first and second electrodes, each having a surface, said surfaces being opposed and positioned to accommodate a liquid medium between said surfaces, said liquid medium having polarizable particles suspended therein; and generating an electric field at an interface between the second electrode and the liquid medium, wherein the second electrode comprises either: (a) a light-sensitive electrode capable of controlling the movement of the particles and/or the liquid medium in a direction substantially parallel to the electrode surface when an electric field is generated with n said interface and the light-sensitive electrode is illuminated with a predetermined light pattern, resulting in formation of an ordered array of particles in at least one designated area of the surface of the second electrode, said designated area being defined by the illumination pattern; or (b) the second electrode is physically or chemically patterned to distribute an electric field in a predetermined manner, when an electric field is generated within said interface, in order to control the movement of the particles and/or the liquid medium in a direction substantially parallel to the electrode surface, said patterning affecting the local distribution of the electric field at the interface, such that the generation of the electric field results in formation of an ordered array of particles in at least one designated area of the surface of the second electrode.