Three-dimensional manipulation of carbon nanotubes under a scanning electron microscope

摘要

Carbon nanotubes are manipulated in threedimensions inside a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Acustom piezoelectric vacuum manipulator achieves positionalresolutions comparable to scanning probe microscopes, with theability to manipulate objects along one rotational and three lineardegrees of freedom. This prototypical device can probe, selectand hadle nanometer-scale objects such as carbon nanotubes inorder to explore and correlate their mechanical and electricalproperties. Under real-time SEM inspection, carbon nanotubesare stressed while monitoring their conductivity, and nanotubesare attached to commercial atomic force microscope (AFM) tipssuch that the forces applied to the tubes can be measured from thecantilevers' deflections. The manipulator functions both as aresearch tool for investigating properties of carbon nanotubes andother nanoscale objects without surface restrictions, and as arudimentary building device for larger nanotube assemblies. Thiscapability to select and manipulate nanoscale components and toexamine directly their suitability as construction materials duringvarious phases of the construction process will play an importantrole in enabling the technology of assembling mechanical andelectronic devices from prefabricated components.