Development of the Nanomanipulator: A Real-Time Scanning Probe Microscope Interface for Nanometer Science

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9512431 Superfine Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) has given scientists and engineers the ability to map a wide range of physical properties of surfaces, such as topography, friction, conductance, with lateral resolution measured in nanometers. However, instruments are needed which allow us to change the sample with the same ease that we now characterize it. The nanomanipulator project will develop an intuitively natural user interface for scanning probe microscopy and manipulation. The interface addresses the two aspects most important when using SPM: representing the data and controlling the SPM tip. For the former, the project will develop a virtual-reality interface which presents data from the SPM with a stereoscopic three-dimensional rendering presented on a monitor. For the latter, the interface uses a manual force feedback input device which allows the user to control the position of the SPM tip on the nanometer scale through the lateral motion of a hand-held stylus, and simultaneously feel the tip/sample force through the force feedback feature. This enables a user to place the nanometer-sized microscopic tip on a specific feature, and to sense its changing topography while the feature is being modified. In this way, the finest features of an electronic device or the dissection of a chromosome can be efficiently tailored. %%% The nanomanipulator project will develop a unique instrument for the manipulation and modification of materials on the nanometer length scale, which will be used in a wide range of experiments in materials science, physics, biochemistry, and computer science. The nanomanipulator is designed to be assembled from commercially available components and a major commercial instrument company is an integral part of the project. This assures that the instrument, as designed and completed, will address the generic needs of the microscopy community. ***