Controlled placement of nanoscale building blocks: Toward large-scale fabrication of nanoscale devices

Much effort has been made recently to develop future devices or sensors comprising nanoscale building blocks such as nanowires, carbon nanotubes, DNA, proteins, and nanoparticles. One of the key requirements to realize these devices/sensors is the capability to place individual nanoscale building blocks onto exact substrate locations. This article will review recent progress in various approaches exploited to place or assemble nanoscale building blocks in a controlled way.