The relative high cost and general inaccessibility of nanotechnology limits the ability for people to recognize the importance and benefits of nanoscale sciences. Of specific concern to our group is the high cost and inaccessibility of nanomanipulators. These nanomanipulators are extremely high precision positioning instruments that, when used with high magnification devices, has the ability to maneuver objects thousands of times smaller than what can be seen with the human eye to precise locations and orientations. Typical nanomanipulators can range from $10-50K which excludes many from acquiring them for research or educational purposes. Greater accessibility leads to greater interest and, ultimately, a better understanding and new breakthroughs in nanoscale sciences. The plan is to develop a low-cost, high precision (sub-100 nm resolution), three-axis, Cartesian nanomanipulator using New Scale Technologies's SQUIGGLE piezoelectric linear actuators. Our SQUIGGLE nanomanipulator should be able to at least match the abilities of nanomanipulators currently on the market at a fraction of the cost. The goal of this project is to provide a possible new product line or application for New Scale Technologies and will immediately impact nanobiotechnology research and educational activities at RIT’s Nano-Bio Interface Laboratory.

The two main objectives of this project are to (1) design and build a low cost, high precision manipulator using SQUIGGLE piezoelectric linear actuators and (2) demonstrate its capabilities and compare its performance to commercially available nanomanipulators.

SQUIGGLE Motor

P13372 Nanomanipulator

Project Name

SQUIGGLE Nanomanipulator

Project Number

P13372

Project Family

Systems and Controls

Start Term

2012-1

End Term

2012-2

Faculty Guide

William Nowak

Principal Engineer

Xerox Corporation

William.Nowak@xerox.com

Primary Customer

Dr. Michael Schrlau

Assistant Professor

Rochester Institute of Technology

egseme@rit.edu

Sponsor (financial support)

New Scale Technologies

Daniele Piazza

Donated actuators, drivers, and staff time

Contact through Dr. Michael Schrlau

Planning & Execution

Systems Design

Detailed Design

Project Review

New Scale References

Final Presentation

Technical Paper

Final Poster

Manual