Electrostatic actuation of telescoping carbon nanotubes inside TEM

Electrostatic actuation of telescoping multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) is directly observed inside transmission electron microscope (TEM). The telescoping MWNT is fabricated by peeling off outer layers through destructive fabrication process. Its inner core is extended by applied DC bias voltage. These processes have been done through hybrid nanorobotic manipulation system, which is integrated nanomanipulators inside a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and a TEM. From experimental results, the inner core is extended on increasing the applied voltage; the maximum extended length is ∼179 nm by ∼65 V. On decreasing the applied voltage, the inner core is not fully retracted; it has ∼105 nm hysteresis. These results show the possibility of nano-scale actuator applications using telescoping MWCNT with precision.