Construction of a Nanotube Tip Mounting Workbench for Generation of Nanoscale Probes for Research and Education

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9975833RinzlerThis award will partially support the construction of a carbon nanotube tip-mounting workbench to be used for the routine attachment of carbon nanotubes to commercially available atomic force microscopy cantilevers and other electrodes. The workbench will consist of a dark-field-capable, inverted optical microscope on a vibration isolation table. The microscope platform will be retooled to accept three high precision XYZ translation stages equipped with electrostrictive drives for fine motion control. A laser light source will permit enhanced viewing of the nanotubes as well as the capability to heat these for certain proposed applications. A CCD camera and image capture system will permit remote observation of the microscope field of view both for training purposes and for documentation. A specially constructed, windowed, evacuable chamber, designed to fit on the platform to permit microscopic observation will allow the mounted nanotubes to be further processed in an inert atmosphere.As part of their training in physics, a graduate student and two undergraduate students (provided for in University matching support for two years) will be involved in all phases of the design and assembly of the Workbench and its associated hardware. These students will learn the present techniques for mounting nanotube tips and be responsible, under the direction of Professors Rinzler and Hebard, for the further tip developments outlined above. Once trained these students will also share the responsibility for training other users. The advantages afforded by the nanotube tips generated with the Workbench are anticipated to be sufficiently useful in probe microscopy and other applications that we expect it to be used by a host of other graduate and undergraduate students and postdocs, to produce tips, for use in their own research over years to come.%%%This is an unusual opportunity for students to gain invaluable experience in the design and use of a unique system.***