Three-dimensional manipulation of carbon nanotubes under a scanning electron microscope

Carbon nanotubes are manipulated in three dimensions inside a scanning electron microscope (SEM). A custom piezoelectric vacuum manipulator achieves positional resolutions comparable to scanning probe microscopes, with the ability to manipulate objects along one rotational and three linear degrees of freedom. This prototypical device can probe, select and handle nanometre-scale objects such as carbon nanotubes in order to explore and correlate their mechanical and electrical properties. Under real-time SEM inspection, carbon nanotubes are stressed while monitoring their conductivity, and nanotubes are attached to commercial atomic force microscope (AFM) tips such that the forces applied to the tubes can be measured from the cantilevers' deflections. The manipulator functions both as a research tool for investigating properties of carbon nanotubes and other nanoscale objects without surface restrictions, and as a rudimentary building device for larger nanotube assemblies. This capability to select and manipulate nanoscale components and to examine directly their suitability as construction materials during various phases of the construction process will play an important role in enabling the technology of assembling mechanical and electronic devices from prefabricated components.