Chapter Three - Electron Tweezers as a Tool for High-Precision Manipulation of Nanoobjects

Abstract

Abstract Trapping of nanometer-size objects by optical tweezers is challenging because forces become very small for nanoparticles and the resolving power of light optical (near-field) microscopy is limited to ∼15 nm. Focused electron beams produced with scanning transmission electron microscopy (S/TEM) not only enable real-time atomic-resolution imaging, diffraction, and spectroscopy, but they also appear to be a valuable complement to conventional optical tweezers because they have a much shorter wavelength than does light. The concept of electrons moving objects sounds like science fiction, but recent experiments demonstrate that electron beams are capable of trapping and manipulating nanoparticles in liquids and on supports by transferring linear and angular mechanical momenta. Thermally assisted electron nanotweezers can be utilized for controlled manipulation and tracking of nanoobjects and fabrication of assembled nanodevices with a lateral resolution and sensitivity by three orders of magnitude better than its light optical counterpart. We outline new research directions and potential applications for electron nanotweezers.