Peeling and Cutting a Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube inside a Scanning Electron Microscope

Carbon nanotube (CNT) has many superior properties if compared to other materials which make it a promising nanostructure to be used in various nanoelectronic and mechanical systems (NEMS). The main problems involved in nanotube based applications are related to the fabrication process and especially to the machining and assembly of CNTs. In this paper, the techniques for peeling and cutting of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT) are presented. Both the techniques take place inside the same observation devise a scanning electron microscope (SEM), which make the combination of the techniques effective. Also the size of the specimen chamber of a SEM enables the use of different fabrication methods like the assistance of a nanorobotic manipulator in different nanomanufacturing steps. The usability of the proposed techniques is verified in the manufacturing of a concept of one dimensional nanoactuator, which can be fabricated by the presented techniques.