Partnership in Nanotechnology: Robotic Assembly of Functional Nanstructures

Requicha, Aristides A. Koel, Bruce E.南加州大学纳米技术合作伙伴关系：功能纳米结构的机器人装配在纳米尺度上对物质结构的控制可能会彻底改变科学和技术，这取决于纳米结构可以为特定功能组装的程度。这个项目的重点是开发一种生产功能性纳米结构的工艺。该过程基于在程序控制下原子力显微镜（AFM）对胶体纳米颗粒的操纵。这个过程可以单独使用，也可以补充其他过程，例如，修改由自组装形成的规则粒子阵列，或构建自组装模板。这个项目的主要应用是制造一种信息存储设备，纳米ocd，其中数字信息以纳米颗粒的模式编码。然而，由此产生的过程将是通用的，并将具有广泛的潜在应用。这项研究将沿着两个方向进行。首先是操作策略和相关软件的开发，要么使用已知的机器人技术，要么发明新的技术。纳米组装必须自动化，因为大多数组装中所需的基本操作数量将是巨大的。第二个研究方向是纳米尺度下的材料和现象。要解决的问题包括底物、尖端和要使用的纳米粒子，以及粒子操作的物理和化学。最初的努力旨在了解纳米颗粒与AFM尖端移动的机制和工艺参数的影响。最初，硅衬底和胶体纳米粒子将被调查，以建立在现有的知识。本项目是根据NSF98-20《纳米技术合作：功能纳米结构（FNS）的合成、加工和利用》提交的提案。

EIA-9871775 Requicha, Aristides A. Koel, Bruce E. University of Southern California Partnerships in Nanotechnology: Robotic Assembly of Functional Nanostructures Control over the structure of matter at the nanometer scale may revolutionize science and technology, depending on the extent to which nanostructures can be assembled for specific functions. The thrust of this project is the development of a process for producing functional nanostructures. The process is based on manipulation of colloidal nanoparticles with an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) under program control. This process can be used by itself or to complement others, for example to modify a regular array of particles laid down by self-assembly or to construct a template for self-assembly. The primary application motivating this project is fabrication of an information storage device, the nanoCD, in which digital information is encoded in patterns of nanoparticles. However, the resulting processes will be generic and will have a wide range of potential applications. The research will proceed along two directions. The first is the development of manipulation strategies and associated software, using either known robotics techniques or inventing new ones. Nanoassembly must be automated because the number of elementary operations required in most assemblies will be enormous. The second research direction focuses on materials and phenomena at the nanometer scale. Issues to be addressed include the substrates, tips, and nanoparticles to be used, and the physics and chemistry of particles manipulation. Initial efforts are aimed at understanding the mechanics of moving nanoparticles with an AFM tip and the influence of process parameters. Initially, silicon substrates and colloidal nano particles will be investigated, to build upon current knowledge. This project results from a proposal submitted in response to NSF98-20, Partnership in Nanotechnology: Synthesis, Processing, and Utilization of Functional Nanostructures (FNS).