Visual Servoing-Based Nanorobotic System for Automated Electrical Characterization of Nanotubes inside SEM

Abstract

The maneuvering and electrical characterization of nanotubes inside a scanning electron microscope (SEM) has historically been time-consuming and laborious for operators. Before the development of automated nanomanipulation-enabled techniques for the performance of pick-and-place and characterization of nanoobjects, these functions were still incomplete and largely operated manually. In this paper, a dual-probe nanomanipulation system vision-based feedback was demonstrated to automatically perform 3D nanomanipulation tasks, to investigate the electrical characterization of nanotubes. The XY-position of Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) cantilevers and individual carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were precisely recognized via a series of image processing operations. A coarse-to-fine positioning strategy in the Z-direction was applied through the combination of the sharpness-based depth estimation method and the contact-detection method. The use of nanorobotic magnification-regulated speed aided in improving working efficiency and reliability. Additionally, we proposed automated alignment of manipulator axes by visual tracking the movement trajectory of the end effector. The experimental results indicate the system’s capability for automated measurement electrical characterization of CNTs. Furthermore, the automated nanomanipulation system has the potential to be extended to other nanomanipulation tasks.

Electrical properties of Y-type branched carbon nanotube

“…Where i 、 j is the branch number of carbon nanotubes, e represents the electron charge, h is the Planck constant, f represents the Fermi distribution function,  is the electrochemical potential of the electrode, and ( , ) b T E V represents the transmission coefficient when the bias voltage is b V between the electrodes and the electron energy is E . If at low temperature, f can be approximated as a step function, which is zero at the Fermi level, so the effective interval of current integration in formula (1)…”

“…Carbon nanotubes have excellent electrical and physical properties 1 , and are important research materials for continuously miniaturized and integrated nano electronic devices 2 . They have broad application prospects in the microelectronics industry and integrated circuit semiconductor industry 3 .…”

A Review of Computer Microvision-Based Precision Motion Measurement: Principles, Characteristics, and Applications

“…In addition, the SEM possesses the advantages of short imaging time, wide FOV, wide magnification range, and continuous zoom. Therefore, it is an ideal global sensor for substituting on-board position sensors in micro/nano engineering as well as measurement tasks [44], [45]. Figure 3 gives a brief introduction of the typical SEM architecture and imaging principle.…”

SEM image-guided manipulation with a feedback assistance system for automated nanohandling of a 4 DOF micromanipulator

“…Over the last few years, much research efforts have been put up in developing automated techniques for the manipulation and characterization of different nanomaterials like carbon nanotubes, nanowires, and colloidal particles for the nanofabrication, photonics, NEMS, and MEMS application [1][2][3][4][5][6]. Based on the environmental conditions, microscopes used, and whether the manipulation is contact or non-contact * Author to whom any correspondence should be addressed.…”