Coaxial Atomic Force Microscope Tweezers

TL;DR

This paper introduces coaxial AFM tweezers that utilize dielectrophoresis to trap and manipulate small objects in three dimensions, enabling precise assembly at microscale.

Contribution

It presents a novel coaxial AFM design capable of dielectrophoretic trapping and 3D assembly, demonstrating precise microsphere manipulation.

Findings

DEP force confirmed via pull-off force measurements

Successful 3D assembly of silica microspheres

Demonstrated imaging and placement at target locations

Abstract

We demonstrate coaxial atomic force microscope (AFM) tweezers that can trap and place small objects using dielectrophoresis (DEP). An attractive force is generated at the tip of a coaxial AFM probe by applying a radio frequency voltage between the center conductor and a grounded shield; the origin of the force is found to be DEP by measuring the pull-off force vs. applied voltage. We show that the coaxial AFM tweezers (CAT) can perform three dimensional assembly by picking up a specified silica microsphere, imaging with the microsphere at the end of the tip, and placing it at a target destination.