Automated nanoassembly
AssigneeBoard of Trustees operating Michigan State University
InventorsNing Xi, Guangyong Li, Heping Chen
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An automated nanomanipulation system is provided for manufacturing a nanoscale structure. The system includes: a design model for the nanoscale structure; image data of a sample surface upon which the nanoscale structure is to be manufactured; a movable member configured to perform a nanomanipulation operation on the sample surface; and a path planning subsystem adapted to receive the design model and the image data. The path planning subsystem generates path data indicative of a path for traversing the movable member along the sample surface such that the movable member manipulates one or more randomly distributed nanoobjects in accordance with the design model.
Claims28
An automated nanomanipulation system for manufacturing a nanoscale structure, comprising:
- a design model for a nanoscale structure comprised of two or more nanoobjects;
- image data of a sample surface upon which the nanoscale structure is to be manufactured, the sample surface having a plurality of randomly distributed nanoobjects from which the nanoscale structure is formed;
- a movable member configured to perform a nanomanipulation operation on the sample surface;
- a path planning subsystem adapted to receive the design model and the image data and operable to generate path data is indicative of a path for traversing the movable member along the sample surface such that the movable member manipulates one or more randomly distributed nanoobjects in accordance with the design model, and the path data.
An automated method for constructing nanoscale structures, comprising:
- providing a design model for a nanoscale structure comprised of two or more nanoobjects, where the design model defines a spatial relationship between the nanoobjects which form the nanoscale structure;
- identifying available nanoobjects on a sample surface upon which the nanoscale structure is to be constructed;
- determining manipulation paths for at least one of the available nanoobjects in accordance with the design model, where the manipulation path accounts for an attraction force between the available nanoobjects and any obstacles in close proximity to the manipulation path.
An automated method for determining manipulation paths for nanoobjects which form a nanoscale structure, the nanoscale structure constructed from randomly distributed nanoobjects on a sample surface and in accordance with a design model that defines destinations for the nanobjects which form the nanoscale structure, comprising:
- determining possible direct paths between the randomly distributed nanoobjects and the destinations for the nanoobjects as specified by the design model, where a direct path is a straight line without any obstacles between a nanoobject and a destination;
- assigning a randomly distributed nanoobject having a direct path to a destination using a minimum distance criterion;
- determining a number of destinations which are obstacles along the path of each assigned nanoobject;
- setting a manipulation path for the assigned nanoobject having the highest number of obstacles.
A method for drift compensation when constructing a nanoscale structure from randomly distributed nanoobjects on a sample surface, comprising:
- determining positional information for randomly distributed nanoobjects on the surface upon which the nanoscale structure is to be constructed;
- determining manipulation paths for one or more of the nanoobjects;
- confirming the positional information of a given nanoobject prior to manipulating the given nanoobject;
- and
- adjusting the manipulation path for the given nanoobject when the positional information for the given nanoobject has changed.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.