An open framework for the assembly of micro- and nano-scale artifacts

The design and manufacture of miniature devices have been increasing in both research laboratories and industry. The sizes of the devices continue to decrease to the nanometer scale. At the same time, the complexity of those devices has increased. To achieve the desired functionality, different materials are required for making different components. Consequently, micro- and nano-assembly has to be performed. A micro- and nano-assembly system using optical tweezers has been developed. This paper describes an information framework for a nano-assembly system. The framework contains the following components: a use case model, component model, activity model, class diagram, and interaction model. These components are all described using the Unified Modeling Language. An initial implementation based on this framework is presented and discussed.