Development of a Nanohandling Desktop Station for Nanocharacterization of CNTs and biological cells by a piezoresistive AFM Probe (NaDeSta)
Final Report Abstract
The nanomanipulation and characterization of biological objects and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is one of the main current research fields in nanotechnology and biology. For this purpose, the idea of the project was to develop a nanohandling desktop station for nanocharacterization of carbon nanotubes and biological cells by a piezoresistive AFM probe. Initially, the project proposal was submitted together with a Chinese partner from Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China within a Joint research programme. Because the Chinese partner was not available for this project alternative probes had to be used. Nevertheless, the overall progress of the NaDeSta project is close to the initial work plan and excellent experimental results have been achieved in both research areas: the characterization of CNTs as well as biological cells. A modular nanorobotic desktop station has been developed and implemented that can be used with an optical microscope in order to manipulate and characterize biological cells as well as inside the vacuum chamber of a scanning electron microscope (SEM) for the purpose of CNT characterization. In the field of CNT characterization, two application areas of high-impact have been identified: Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) that can be used as extra sharp tips for high-aspect ratio AFM probes and singlewalled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) bundles that can replace conventional copper interconnects in microchip technology. Both structures can be grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD), which is a promising technique to become compatible to standard CMOS fabrication processes in the near future, but still requires supporting technologies its optimization. Therefore, the research activities within the NaDeSta project concentrate on the mechanical characterization of as-grown MWCNTs and the electrical characterization of as-grown SWCNT bundles, both coming directly from the CVD-based fabrication process. For the mechanical characterization of MWCNTs piezoresistive AFM probes have been used to perform bending experiments of individual MWCNTs measuring characteristic force displacement curves and calculating the Young's modulus. For the electrical characterization of SWCNT bundles a new strategy and so-called L-shaped for point probes have been developed facilitating the direct electrical characterization. During the run time of the project, three main application areas have been identified for biomaterials: As already described in the proposal, the usage of the developed system for the cell characterization is extremely important for further medical and genetic studies. Thus also being developments of new therapies for cancer, mental diseases as well as experiments on stem cells. Further areas of interest for such a flexible system is the usage for the design and structuring of the biomarkers on biochips for mobile diagnostic systems as well as the handling and characterization of DNA and similar biomaterials for nanoelectronics. During the project run time the system was tested for the mechanical characterization of cells (including living and dead cancer cells). According to current developments in nanoelectronics, we also showed the usage of the developed system for the handling and manipulation of DNA and bacterial ejectisomes for the future design of nanoelectronics circuits and as a possible solution for packaging problems at the nano scale.
Publications
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"Development of an Automated Microrobot Station for Nanocharacterization", Springer Microsystem Technologies, Vol. 14, No. 4-5, pp. 463-474, 2008
S. Fatikow, V. Eichhorn, F. Krohs, J. Mircea, C. Stolle, S. Hagemann
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Characterization and Handling of Carbon Nanotubes. In S. Fatikow, Editor: "Automated Nanohandling by Microrobots", Springer Series in Advanced Manufacturing, Springer Verlag, pp. 203-235, 2008
V. Eichhorn and C. Stolle
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Nanohandling Robot Cells, in Handbook of Nanotechnology, Chapter 47, Editor: Klaus D. Sattler, Taylor & Francis Books Inc., pp. 47/17-21, 2010
S. Fatikow, T. Wich, C. Dahmen, D. Jasper, C. Stolle, V. Eichhorn, S. Hagemann, M. Weigel-Jech
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Nanorobotic handling and characterization of carbon nanotubes inside the scanning electron microscope. Verlag Dr. Hut, München, ISBN 978-3-86853-844-1, 2011
V. Eichhorn
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"Nanomaterials Enter the Silicon-Based CMOS Era - Nanorobotic Technologies for Nanoelectronic Devices", IEEE Nanotechnology Magazine, Volume 6, Number 1, pp. 14-18, 2012
S. Fatikow, V. Eichhorn and M. Bartenwerfer
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Robot-Based Automation on the Nanoscale, in Encyclopedia of Nanotechnology, Editor: B. Bhushan, Springer, pp. 2246-2264, 2012
S. Fatikow, D. Jasper, D. Dahmen, F. Krohs, V. Eichhorn, M. Weigel-Jech
