SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY BASED MANIPULATION AND CHARACTERISATION OF NANO-SCALE OBJECTS St. Fahlbusch 1 , S. Hoffmann 1 , I. Utke 1 , A. Steinecker 2 , J.-M. Breguet 3 and J. Michler 1 1 Empa, Materials Science and Technology Laboratory of Materials Technology Feuerwerkerstrasse 39,CH-3602 Thun, Switzerland 2 Centre Suisse d'Electronique et de Microtechnique SA Untere Gruendlistrasse 1, CH-6055 Alpnach Dorf, Switzerland 3 Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne Laboratoire de Systèmes Robotiques CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland Abstract: Two scanning electron microscopy (SEM) based devices for positioning, manipulation and imaging at the nano-scale have been developed. The control and vision system is based on both a commercial scanning probe microscopy (SPM) controller and a client-server approach to ensure that nanopositioning and SEM image processing are executed in real-time. The evaluation of the two devices has been performed by implementing three different applications: (i) attachment of carbon nanotubes on SPM tips, (ii) investigation of mechanical properties of nanowires and (iii) tensile strength measurements for focused electron beam deposits. Copyright © 2006 IFAC Keywords: Cartesian manipulators, image processing, manipulation tasks, mechanical properties, robot control, robotic manipulators, telemanipulation. 1. INTRODUCTION In recent years, the manipulation and characterisation of nanowires (NWs) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) became a matter of particular interest in research. Due to their unique structure, small size, high aspect ratio and low density as well as excellent mechanical and electrical properties, nanotubes are expected to find use in a wide range of applications. Mounted on tungsten tips they can be applied as field emitters in displays or in high-resolution electron beam instruments (Bonard, et al., 1998; De Jonge, et al., 2003). CNTs mounted on atomic force microscopy (AFM) tips promise to overcome the limitations of standard tips regarding resolution and wear (Stevens, et al., 2000). Nanowires are of interdisciplinary interest to applications in the fields of bio-medical sensing, nano- and optoelectronics and photovoltaics due to their electrical, optical, mechanical and geometrical properties that deviate quite substantially from bulk (Law, et al., 2004). For all these applications dedicated tools are essential to functionalise, manipulate and characterise – both mechanically and electrically – CNTs and NWs and assemble them into nano- devices. In addition, novel processes and strategies for nano-scale visualisation have to developed based on high spatial resolution imaging instruments like scanning electron microscopes (SEMs). The manipulation and characterisation of nano-scale objects and of matter even at the atomic level has been opened up by the invention of the scanning tunneling microscope by Binning and Rohrer in the early eighties, and the subsequent invention of the atomic force microscope by Binning, et al. (1986). Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) based nanomanipulation has rapidly gained in importance during the last ten years, and several kinds of manipulation systems have been developed (Schaefer, et al., 1995; Requicha, et al., 1998; Theil- Hansenyk, et al., 1998; Li, et al., 2003). To overcome the main drawback of these systems, i.e. the lack of visual feedback in real-time, SPMs have been combined with haptic devices (NanoManipulator, NanoFeel, Omega Haptic Device), and virtual reality interfaces have been 108 EMPA20060296