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Nanolithography Nanomachining Nanoelectronics My goal this summer was to detect the vibrations of a freestanding nanometer sized rod, which is made out of silicon. The freestanding nanometer sized rods are made using advanced nanolithography nanomachining techniques in the University of California at Santa Barbara clean room. My approach to the problem of detecting the nano motion was to take an old prototype atomic force microscope and modify it to measure the motion of a nanometer sized rod. Detecting this nano motion allows access to new experimental regimes at the nanoscale. This nano size brings out new physical properties as the size approaches the length scales set by quantum mechanics. These new physical properties are under intense study by physicists. The immediate benefits of detecting this motion are the ability to characterize the motion of nanoelectromechanical systems built by the Cleland research group. Characterization involves checking that the nanoelectromechanical systems work, what quality factor they have, and what frequency they resonate at. Although I have not completed my goal of detecting the nano motion, I have completed my modified atomic force microscope. The modifications include a photodiode that can detect reflections of the atomic force microscope laser off the nanomachines at a frequency of 500 million cycles per second. My other major modification was to remove the atomic force microscope head cantilever and to replace it with a sample holder, which is connected to instrumentation. The sample holder holds the nanomachines and is designed to be magnetically positioned in place to allow for greater degrees of freedom in positioning the samples and so that many nanomachines, which have to be on the same sample, can be looked at simultaneously. This image shows my modified atomic force microscope on the left with associated electronics on the right. At the top of my modified atomic force microscope is the laser and on the bottom is my magnetic sample holder.
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