Gas‐Phase Assembly of Semiconductor Nanostructures into Functional Field‐Effect Transistors

Abstract Conventional semiconductor manufacturing relies on top‐down lithography, which faces fundamental limitations in resolution, material versatility, and cost at the nanoscale. While bottom‐up colloidal strategies offer alternative pathways, they are constrained by ligand contamination and insufficient precision for integrated circuits. Here a gas‐phase synthesis and assembly platform is reported that overcomes these challenges by combining plasma‐generated, stabilizer‐free semiconductor nanoparticles (NPs) with electric‐field‐guided 3D nanoprinting. This approach begins to generate sub‐5‐nm NPs (Si, Ge, ZnO, In₂O₃, GaAs, SiC) with high purity (no ligands) and monodispersity, enabled by kinetically controlled nucleation in a dilute inert gas stream. Deterministic assembly is also achieved via coupled gas‐flow and electric‐field topologies, acting as “virtual nozzles” to direct NPs into architectures with <10‐nm alignment precision—surpassing colloidal methods and rivaling lithographic resolution. For functional FET integration, gate modulation (ON/OFF ratio: ≈1211) and carrier mobility (8.33 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹) are demonstrated, validated through cross‐characterization. Mechanistic studies reveal that NP coalescence is governed by surface‐dynamics control, where gas‐phase confinement arrests Ostwald ripening to enable swallowing of coming NPs in nanoprinting. The method's dry, ligand‐free nature ensures material purity and enables air‐sensitive semiconductors (e.g., GaAs). By bridging the gap between top‐down precision and bottom‐up versatility, this work establishes a scalable pathway for 3D‐printed nanoelectronics and advances the synthetic toolbox for semiconductor nanomaterials.