Nanomanipulation and characterization of individual nano-objects for in situ experiments of electron microscopy / Nanomanipulação e caracterização de nano-objetos individuais por experimentos in situ de microscopia eletronica

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2007

RESUMO

It is expected that, in the future, high-technology devices should be based on new and unexpected physical and chemical properties of nanometric objects. Many applications require nano-objects to be selectively positioned at well-defined positions of a device. However, the well-established methods of physical manipulation used in the macroscopic scale are not applicable in nanoscale. Here, there are lots of open questions and the progress is still rather slow. Several experiments have exploited physical manipulation using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM), but, in these techniques, manipulation and observation can not be performed simultaneously. The scanning (SEM) and transmission (TEM) electron microscopes are essential equipments for studying nano-objects due to their high resolution and to the possibility of observing performed movements in real time. Those techniques, together with the use of nanomanipulators, are powerful tools to manipulate and characterize nano-objects. There are several commercial nanomanipulators for SEMs. However, the price of these instruments is reasonably high, and they become restricted to a few research groups. In this work, we report the development and applications of home-made nanomanipulators (with one or two probe tips) whose systems are based on simple mechanics and on low-cost materials. They operate inside a FEG-SEM (JSM-6330F, 1.5 nm nominal resolution at 25 kV). The coarse movements rely on parallel guiding spring based mechanics (one axis of movement) and on two overlapped parallel guiding spring based mechanics (two axes of movement). The precise movements are due to an ensemble of piezoelectric elements that has three independent axes of movement for each probe tip. The sample support has a large range (15 mm) on one axis, which allows working with several samples during the same experiment. The instruments are suitable for a wide spectrum of nanomanipulation and nanocharacterization experiments, including measuring currents and applying voltages. The systems have been used for a variety of applications, such as: a) fabricating high aspect-ratio AFM tips based on multi-walled carbon nanotubes; b) collecting, moving, and positioning semiconductor nanowires (100 - 300 nm in diameter, microns in length) on predefined electrical contacts or special sample sites; c) fabrication and electrical characterization of an electronic device based on semiconductor nanowires; d) characterization of mechanical properties of one-dimensional nano-objects, as carbon nanotubes and nanowires; etc. Brie°y, our manipulation results demonstrate that there are plenty of opportunities for applications of physical manipulation in the bottom-up approach to nanotechnology

ASSUNTO(S)

nanomanipulação nanoobjetos nanoobjects electron microscopy nanomanipulation experimentos in situ in situ experiments microscopia eletronica

ACESSO AO ARTIGO

Documentos Relacionados