Coaxial atomic force microscope tweezers

Abstract

We demonstrate coaxial atomic force microscope (AFM) tweezers that can trap and place small objects using dielectrophoresis (DEP). An attractive force is generated at the tip of a coaxial AFM probe by applying a radio frequency voltage between the center conductor and a grounded shield; the origin of the force is found to be DEP by measuring the pull-off force versus applied voltage. We show that the coaxial AFM tweezers can perform three-dimensional assembly by picking up a specified silica microsphere, imaging with the microsphere at the end of the tip, and placing it at a target destination.