A New AFM Cantilever Design for Manipulation at the Nanoscale

Prototyping and fabrication of nanodevices require subnanometer tolerances and highly accurate sensing and actuation. Improved control on manipulating matter at the nanoscale is of relevance in different fields such as the automotive industry, biotechnology and communication. Limitations of existing nanomanipulation systems include constrained motion of manipulator end-effectors. In the present paper, a new AFM probe design suitable for nanomanipulation is proposed. The design includes a nanomanipulation piezotube that allows actuation and sensing of the tip motion in three directions. In addition, a piezopatch is attached to the cantilever holder for in-situ stiffness tuning needed for manipulating large and sticky nanosamples. Design considerations and path tracking performance of the proposed manipulator are analyzed.