Trends in Nanotechnology: Self-Assembly and Defect Tolerance

In this paper we discuss the concept of using self-assembly coupled with novel switching elements and a defect-tolerant architecture to fabricate advanced nanoelectronics. Self-assembly should allow small features to be fabricated at a markedly lower cost than that projected by extrapolating current trends because of the defect tolerance and the use of coarser lithography to position device features, rather than fine lithography to form the critical device dimensions.