Three-dimensional nanoscale manipulation and manufacturing using proximal probes: controlled pulling of polymer micro/nanofibers

Besides imaging and characterization, proximal probes are proposed to be used as three-dimensional (3D) nanoscale manipulation and manufacturing tools in this paper. We propose 3D nanoscale pulling of liquid polymer micro/nanofibers by precise positioning of atomic force microscope (AFM) nanoprobes and control of polymer solidification. An AFM probe is used to pull or extrude thermoset and thermoplastic polymers precisely to fabricate 3D polymer nano-fiber structures. A liquid polymer fiber bridge between the probe tip and a substrate is maintained when pulling the probe from the surface with controlled speed and position. We present results of our pulling experiments in vertical, horizontal and arbitrary 3D pulling directions for poly(methyl methacrylate): PMMA polymer fibers. Force-distance curves obtained using AFM for PMMA samples at different scan rates are presented. A preliminary study showing the effect of velocity profile on pulling liquid bridges using POLYFLOW® is presented.