The authors report the behavior of a nanoscale parallel-guiding mechanism wherein the compliant components are single-walled carbon nanotubes. Parallel-guiding mechanisms are often the building blocks of macro- and microscale mechanical systems. The authors present results that provide insight into the performance of a parallel-guiding mechanism for nanoscale devices. The device exhibits a range over 75% of the device size, i.e., 5.5 nm, when actuated with 6.4 nN. Below 3.6 nN, displacements are due to bulk elastic bending of the nanotubes. Above 5.2 nN, displacements are governed by the hingelike bending of kinks in the nanotubes. van der Waals forces are shown to cause direction-dependent behavior.
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