Micro assembler with fine angle control

An apparatus, comprising:

• an assembly surface comprising an array of electrodes arranged such that each of a plurality of chiplets can be positioned to cover at least one of the electrodes, each of the electrodes capable of being individually activated to apply a clamping force field to one of the chiplets;
• at least one magnet that is configurable via an input to exert a magnetic field on the chiplets at a selectable angle relative to the assembly surface;
• and
• a processor coupled to the electrodes and the at least one magnet, the processor operable to:
• determine a desired orientation angle of a first subset of the chiplets;
• activate one or more of the electrodes so that a second subset of the chiplets different than the first subset is kept from rotating by the clamping force field applied by the one or more of the electrodes;
• and
• while the clamping force field is being applied, activate the at least one magnet at a selected angle to cause the first subset of the chiplets to be oriented at the desired orientation angle.

A method comprising:

• arranging a plurality of chiplets on an assembly surface such that the chiplets do not interfere with one another, the assembly surface comprising an array of electrodes and the chiplets arranged such that each chiplet is over at least one of the electrodes;
• determining a desired orientation angle of a first subset of the chiplets;
• activating one or more of the electrodes so that a second subset of the chiplets different than the first subset is kept from rotating by a clamping force field applied by the one or more electrodes;
• and
• applying a rotation field that is orthogonal to the clamping force field applied by the one or more electrodes, an angle of the rotation field selectable to cause the first subset of the chiplets to be oriented at the desired orientation angle.