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

超细扫描探针显微镜（SPM）使科学家和工程师能够绘制表面的各种物理性质，如地形，摩擦，电导，以纳米为单位测量横向分辨率。然而，需要仪器，使我们能够改变样品，同样容易，我们现在表征它。纳米机器人项目将为扫描探针显微镜和操作开发一个直观自然的用户界面。该接口解决了使用SPM时最重要的两个方面：表示数据和控制SPM提示。对于前者，该项目将开发一个虚拟现实界面，该界面将SPM的数据以立体的三维渲染呈现在显示器上。对于后者，界面采用手动力反馈输入装置，用户可以通过手持触控笔的横向运动来控制SPM针尖在纳米尺度上的位置，同时通过力反馈功能来感受针尖/样品的受力。这使得用户能够将纳米大小的显微尖端放置在特定的特征上，并在特征被修改时感知其变化的地形。通过这种方式，可以有效地定制电子设备的最佳特征或染色体的解剖。纳米操纵器项目将开发一种独特的仪器，用于在纳米尺度上操纵和修饰材料，这将广泛用于材料科学，物理，生物化学和计算机科学的实验中。纳米机械臂的设计是由商业上可用的部件组装而成，一家主要的商业仪器公司是该项目不可分割的一部分。这保证了该仪器的设计和完成，将解决显微镜界的一般需求。＊＊＊

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. ***