Direct manipulation of metallic nanosheets by shear force microscopy

Micro/nanomanipulation is a rapidly growing technology and holds promising applications in various fields, including photonic/electronic devices, chemical/biosensors etc. In this work, we present that shear force microscopy (ShFM) can be exploited to manipulate metallic nanosheets besides imaging. The manipulation is realized via controlling the shear force sensor probe position and shear force magnitude based on our homemade ShFM system under an optical microscopy for in situ observation. The main feature of the ShFM system is usage of a piezoelectric bimorph sensor, which has the ability of self‐excitation and detection. Moreover, the shear force magnitude as a function of the spring constant of the sensor and setpoint is obtained, which indicates that operation modes can be switched between imaging and manipulation through designing the spring constant before experiment and changing the setpoint during manipulation process, respectively. We believe that this alternative manipulation technique could be used to assemble other nanostructures with different shapes, sizes and compositions for new properties and wider applications.     

Resistive Switching of Individual,Chemically Synthesized TiO2 Nanoparticles

Resistively switching devices are considered promising for next‐generation nonvolatile random‐access memories. Today, such memories are fabricated by means of “top–down approaches” applying thin films sandwiched between nanoscaled electrodes. In contrast, this work presents a “bottom–up approach” disclosing for the first time the resistive switching (RS) of individual TiO₂ nanoparticles (NPs). The NPs, which have sizes of 80 and 350 nm, respectively, are obtained by wet chemical synthesis and thermally treated under oxidizing or vacuum conditions for crystallization, respectively. These NPs are deposited on a Pt/Ir bottom electrode and individual NPs are electrically characterized by means of a nanomanipulator system in situ, in a scanning electron microscope. While amorphous NPs and calcined NPs reveal no switching hysteresis, a very interesting behavior is found for the vacuum‐annealed, crystalline TiO_2–x NPs. These NPs reveal forming‐free RS behavior, dominantly complementary switching (CS) and, to a small degree, bipolar switching (BS) characteristics. In contrast, similarly vacuum‐annealed TiO₂ thin films grown by atomic layer deposition show standard BS behavior under the same conditions. The interesting CS behavior of the TiO_2–x NPs is attributed to the formation of a core–shell‐like structure by re‐oxidation of the reduced NPs as a unique feature.     

虚拟现实中DNA纳米操纵与动态轨迹的逼近

利用虚拟现实技术为DNA操纵的研究提供了一个交互的人机接口。通过触觉设备对虚拟环境中的DNA仿真几何模型进行了虚拟操纵的研究。把模拟探针的运动实时转化成了SPM指令驱动远程扫描探针显微镜进行真实的纳米操纵。采用自底向上的动态等误差直线逼近的方法把模拟探针运动轨迹用直线段逼近。     

Optimizing single DNA molecules manipulation by AFM

Recent progress in single DNA manipulation with atomic force microscope has proved its potential in analysing genetic information at the molecular level instead of macro ensemble approach. However, current manipulation of DNA is mainly carried out by manual operations, which is labour-intensive and time-consuming, thus limits the further applications in other fields. In this paper, an optimized DNA manipulation method is successfully established. An image correlation technique is introduced to realize automatic thermal drift compensation. Combined with elaborately designed tip movement control for different manipulation purposes, accurate and efficient DNA manipulations such as dissection, folding and picking are realized. The efficiency has been improved for an order of magnitude compare to manual manipulations, whereas the performance is demonstrated to be the same. This newly developed method has shed light on high-efficiency nanomanipulation of small molecules with complex structures, and thus provides the possibility of deeply understanding the intrinsic properties of single biomolecules.     

银纳米线与二氧化硅衬底表面摩擦力的测量

银纳米线是制作纳米光电子器件的理想材料,了解银纳米线与特定衬底间的摩擦特性对于器件的设计和制备工艺具有重要参考价值.本文利用原子力显微镜(AFM)研究银纳米线与二氧化硅衬底表面的摩擦特性,为提高摩擦力测量准确性,依次借助斜面法和横向力曲线分别标定了AFM探针的扭转弹性常数和光杠杆横向灵敏度,同时对扫描器引入的横向误差进行了补偿.利用AFM纳米操纵技术记录了单根银纳米线由静止到整体滑动的全过程,实验测得直径50 nm银纳米线与二氧化硅衬底表面的最大静摩擦线密度和滑动摩擦线密度分别为1.07 nN/nm和0.56 nN/nm.     

Dielectrophoretic manipulation and real-time electrical detection of single-nanowire bridges in aqueous saline solutions

Dielectrophoretic manipulation of nanoscale materials is typically performed in nonionic, highly insulating solvents. However, biomolecular recognition processes, such as DNA hybridization and protein binding, typically operate in highly conducting, aqueous saline solutions. Here, we report investigations of the manipulation and real-time detection of individual nanowires bridging microelectrode gaps in saline solutions. Measurements of the electrode impedance versus frequency show a crossover in behavior at a critical frequency that is dependent on the ionic strength. We demonstrate that by operating above this critical frequency, it is possible to use dielectrophoresis to manipulate nanowires across electrode gaps in saline solutions. By using electrical ground planes and nulling schemes to reduce the background currents, we further demonstrate the ability to electrically detect bridging and unbridging events of individual nanowires in saline solutions. The ability to both manipulate and detect bridging events with electrical signals provides a pathway toward automated assembly of nanoscale devices that incorporate biomolecular recognition elements.     

在扫描电子显微镜中原位操纵、加工和测量纳米结构

在电子显微镜中对纳米材料和纳米结构进行原位测量是了解纳米材料的结构与性能关系的最重要手段,并且,在电子显微镜中操纵和加工纳米材料与纳米结构还可研究新结构和新器件.由于扫描电镜有大的样品室、可较容易地引入多个多种测量和操纵探针、并可配备多种探测器从多个角度对同一个样品进行表征,使得扫描电镜中的原位研究在纳米材料和纳米器件...