VIBRATIONAL AFM-BASED NANO-PLACING: MODELING AND SIMULATION

Bottom-up fabrication presents the potential applications of improved materials and highly effective devices. Matter at the microscale can be manipulated using micro-placing techniques that rely solely on surface forces. These techniques can be used on rough substrates and allow for fast manipulation. In the present paper, we will investigate generalizing these techniques to manipulate nanoscale samples. The use of dynamic oscillations of the manipulator is proposed to allow for controlled release at the nanoscale. The effects of the adhesion and sample mass on the manipulation outcome are investigated. Simulations are conducted to help select the amplitude and the frequency of the vibrations and to improve the accuracy of the manipulation.