Design of an On-Chip Micro-Scale Nanoassembly System | NIST

A microscale nanoassembly system has been designed for the fabrication of nanodevices and in situ electromechanical characterisation of nanostructures. This system consists of four Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS)-based nanomanipulators positioned around a centrally located port for introducing nanostructure samples. Each nanomanipulator is composed of an XYZ nanopositioning mechanism with an attached nanoprobe for interacting with the nanostructures. By simultaneously controlling the position of each of these nanoprobes, they can be used to cooperatively assemble complex structures. The static and dynamic motion characteristics of a prototype nanomanipulator have been measured, providing a non-linear calibration of the quasi-static input?output behaviour, as well as values for the system bandwidth and structural natural frequencies. Important operational issues including proposed manipulation schemes, precision motion control and integration with a Scanning Electron Microscope/Focused Ion Beam (SEM/...