External Force Assisted Nanorobotic Assembly of 3-D Helical Nanobelts

In this paper three-dimensional (3-D) suspended helical nanobelts (HNBs) with ultra-high flexibility are assembled by the external field guidance. Electromagnetic (EM) and electrostatic (ES) force by external potential are characterized quantitatively to guide the assembly of HNBs to create force sensing probe. Both ends of HNBs and target electrodes are attached with ferromagnetic metal connector. By the help of this hybrid nanorobotic assembly approach, we could successfully create force sensing probe by aligning and closing HNBs in vertical way and soldering to interconnect HNBs onto electrodes. Adhesive force between HNBs and electrodes are characterized to show its assembly performance quantitatively. The demonstrated approach shows that external force assisted assembly is an effective way for assisting serial nanorobotic assembly, interconnection soldering which may potentially reduce the production cost and time for future manufacturing realization.