Modelling, simulation and design constraints of electrostatic self-assembly of microparts

Self-assembly is a technique that involves the manipulation and alignment of microparts onto a substrate without additional machinery and makes it possible to assemble a large number of small devices in parallel. A novel concept for the self-alignment of microparts on a substrate by means of electrostatic attraction has been previously introduced and experimentally verified by the authors. In this paper FE modelling is used to determine the magnitude of the self-aligning force and from these findings, a semi-empirical, fitted force model is produced for circular, complementary electrodes between micropart and substrate. Based on this force model, constraints useful for the design and the prediction of the behaviour of microparts are proposed and dynamic simulations of the alignment procedure are presented. The results of these simulations and the previously conducted experiments, as well as the introduced design constraints are the first steps towards the modelling and the implementation of a parallel assembly approach of tiny parts and thereby integration of heterogeneous materials.