Customizable nanotweezers for manipulation of free-standing nanostructures

We present a novel nanotweezer device for manipulation and measurement of free-standing nanostructures, where the shape of the tweezer tips can be customized for the application. Electrostatic actuators with submicron interelectrode spacings are fabricated on a batch level using silicon microfabrication techniques. The actuators are capable of opening and closing with respect to the neutral position, and the full range of actuation exceeds 330 nm. The nanotweezer tips are fabricated using electron beam induced deposition; an electron beam of a scanning electron microscope is focused at the ends of the cantilevers, leading to the formation of 40-100 nm diameter carbon-based tips. Careful alignment of the substrate and the beam, as well as proper selection of growth mode, results in converging tips forming nanogaps down to 20 nm. The nanotweezers can be metallized to be used for electrical measurements of nanostructures.