Nanogripper: Towards a Nanorobotic Assembly Line
20 September 2007, 10:30
Categories: molecular-machines--devices molecular-manufacturing
A group of researchers from Denmark and Germany have developed the rudimentary beginnings of a nanoscale assembly line. They have shown ‘pick-and-place’ assembly of a working device using a silicon gripper — a robotic ‘hand’ some 10000 times smaller than a human hand. This “nanogripper,” controlled by a nanorobotic arm, is capable of picking up a carbon nanofiber (CN) and fix it onto the tip of an atomic force microscope cantilever.
“We managed to break off a sturdy carbon nanofiber, mount it at the pyramidal tip of an atomic force cantilever and used it for scanning in a deep groove,” Dr. Peter Bøggild explained to Nanowerk. “Now, people have made sharp tipped AFMs (Atomic Force Microscopes) before, but this is the first time — we think — a dedicated nanotool has literally snapped off a nanotube from a fixed position and mounted it as a device component — and tested that the device worked.”
Read More
Paper
Video
Posted by: The Editors
Permalink to this article
Previous: Printing Materials
Next: Magnesium Combustion Engines, via Solar-Powered Lasers