Modeling and Design of a Magnetically Actuated Two-Axis Compliant Micromanipulator for Nanomanipulation

This paper presents the modeling and design of a novel magnetically actuated compliant micromanipulator based on the atomic force microscope (AFM) probe. The manipulator can control the Z -position of the tip and its orientation about the longitudinal axis. It enables sensitive interaction with the sample along two axes and is therefore a useful 3-D tool for metrology and manipulation at the micro/nanoscale. The model for the actuation scheme is first presented. Subsequently, the quasi-static and dynamic lumped parameter models of the two-axis manipulator are developed. The developed models are used to propose a systematic procedure to design the probe. The design is evaluated by means of finite-element analysis, and the results are compared with the prediction of the lumped parameter model. Finally, the manipulator is fabricated, and the experimentally measured dynamics is shown to agree well with the results of modeling and simulation.