ABSTRACT
In this chapter, exploiting the uncertainty inherent at the molecular level to achieve stability is explored instead of investigating means of extricating unknown phenomenology. Control and feedback are demonstrated as essential to any hybrid solution of nanotechnology integration. Quantitative methods in terms of static and dynamic self-assembly (SA) are also considered. Self-assembly is a term used to describe processes in which a disordered system of preexisting components forms an organized structure or pattern as a consequence of specific, local interactions among the components, and without external direction. SA in the classic sense can be defined as the spontaneous and reversible organization of molecular units into ordered structures by noncovalent interactions. The first property of a self-assembled system that this definition suggests is the spontaneity of the SA process: the interactions responsible for the formation of the self-assembled system act on a strictly local level-in other words, the nanostructure builds itself. Chapter 9 discussed in depth the concepts of SA in nanofabrication. Self-assembly can be classified as either static or dynamic. In the static case, the ordered state forms as a system approaches equilibrium, reducing its free energy. In contrast, thermodynamic equilibrium may fluctuate in dynamic SA, where specific local interactions allow components to self-organize (SO).
