Pick-and-place robot handles nanofibres

Citation

(2008), "Pick-and-place robot handles nanofibres", Sensor Review, Vol. 28 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/sr.2008.08728aab.003

Pick-and-place robot handles nanofibres

Pick-and-place robot handles nanofibres

A group of researchers from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and University of Oldenburg (OU) have demonstrated pick-and- place assembly of a working device using a silicon microgripper – described as a “robotic hand” 10,000 times smaller than a human hand.

They succeeded in breaking off a sturdy, 10mm long carbon nanofibre and positioning it at the pyramidal tip of an atomic force cantilever. After fixing the fibre by electron beam-induced carbon deposition, the long slender tip was used to scan deep trenches, producing better images than standard atomic force probes.

Associate Professor Peter Bøggild considers this to be a significant step forward, stating: “Nanomanipulation has been around for a few decades, but so far it has mostly been used for basic science and for showing what the future might hold. We have now demonstrated the basic construction of a working device using a small silicon gripper. To turn this into an automatic process we must improve everything: the shape and size of the gripper, the speed and precision of the robot ... But now we have a tool that does the job.”

The gripper works by heating parts of it by means of an electrical current; the resulting thermal expansion creates a powerful gripping action with a jaw movement of around 3mm from fully opened to fully closed.

Developed by the DTU researchers, the gripper is one element of an advanced nanorobotics system with integrated 3D electron microscopy and image recognition constructed by research associate Volkmar Eichhorn and others at the University of Oldenburg.

So far carbon nanotubes and nanofibres with diameters down to 100nm have been manipulated, but it is anticipated that in two years smaller tools will manipulate 10-20nm wide wires and tubes. However, there are many problems to solve to reach this goal. On the nanoscale, 3D manipulation is painstakingly difficult: the robotic arms must work with extreme precision, and real-time imaging of nanostructures is only just possible. Creating the gripper for the robot is a great challenge: the fingers must be thin and flexible, yet have sufficient strength to break off nanotubes. Another requirement for automation is that the nanotubes are located at well-defined locations on the surface, and research into this field is being undertaken at Cambridge University in the UK.

The work has been carried out within the framework of two European projects, Nanohand and Nanorac, using the top European laboratories and high-technology companies working in robotics, nanomanipulation, microscopy and nanofabrication. The objective is to develop a nanomanufacturing assembly line by 2009.

For further information, please visit the web site: www.mic.dtu.dk/Research/NSE/Nanointegration.aspx