A compact multipurpose nanomanipulator for use inside a scanning electron microscope

A compact, two-stage nanomanipulator was designed and built for use inside a scanning electron microscope. It consists of a fine stage employing piezostacks that provide a 15 μm range in three dimensions and a coarse stage based on commercially available stick-slip motors. Besides the fabrication of enhanced probes for scanning probe microscopy and the enhancement of electron field emitters, other novel manipulation processes were developed, such as locating, picking up, and positioning small nanostructures with an accuracy of ∼10 nm. In combination with in situ I-V experiments, welding, and etching, this results in a multipurpose nanofactory, enabling a new range of experiments.