Conventional TEM sample manipulators often lack the crucial stability of 0.1 nm/min. A MEMS manipulator attached directly to the TEM pole would greatly increase both thermal and dynamic stability. However a stable E-beam requires no interference of electric or magnetic fields. Therefore the position of the manipulator should be maintained passively. To this end a mechanical clamp is presented which clamps one of the actuators of the MEMS-based TEM sample manipulator [1]. The clamp incorporates a relatively large clamp force of 0.5 mN and is able to maintain the clamp force without external power. A theoretical basis of the clamp has been presented in previous work [2]. In this paper the design and fabrication of a second generation rotational clamp is presented. This clamp design is part of a research project for a 6 Degrees-of-Freedom MEMS TEM sample manipulator.
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