Unravelling the complex process by which nanoparticles self-assemble into microscopic wafers could lead to new techniques for building nanoscale devices.

Cadmium telluride nanocrystals have been found to spontaneously form sheets 2 microns thick if submerged in water.

The process is similar to one employed by a protein found in bacteria to form sheets known as S-layers, which form the outermost layer of a cell.