• Vacuum Magazine
• /
• v.2 no.1
• /
• pp.17-20
• /
• 2015

In this article, a historical and scientific review on the development of an ultrafast electron microscope is supplied, and the challenges in further improvement of time resolution under sub-picosecond or even sub-femtosecond scale is reviewed. By combining conventional scanning electron microscope and femtosecond laser technique, an ultrafast electron microscope was invented. To overcome its temporal resolution limit which originates from chromatic aberration and Coulomb repulsion between individual electrons, a generation of electron pulse via strong-field photoemission has been investigated thoroughly. Recent studies reveal that the field enhancement and field accumulation associated with the near-field formation at sharply etched metal nanoprobe enabled such field emission by ordinary femtosecond laser irradiation. Moreover, a considerable acceleration reaching 20 eV with near-infrared laser and up to 300 eV acceleration with mid-infrared laser was observed, and the possibility to control the amount of acceleration by varying the incident laser pulse intensity and wavelength. Such findings are noteworthy because of the possibility of realizing a sub-femtosecond, few nanometer imaging of nanostructured sample.in silicon as thermoelectric materials.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
• /
• v.29 no.5
• /
• pp.314-324
• /
• 1996

Scanning probe microscopes (SPMs) such as the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) and the atomic force microscope (AFM) were used for surface modification tools at the nanometer scale. Material surfaces, i. e., titanium, hydrogen-terminated silicon and trimethylsilyl organosilane monolayer on silicon, were locally oxidized with the best lateral spatial resolution of 20nm. The principle behind this proximal probe oxidation method is scanning probe anodization, that is, the SPM tip-sample junction connected through a water column acting as a minute electrochemical cell. An SPM-nanolithogrphy process was demonstrated using the organosilane monolayer as a resist. Area-selective chemical modifications, i. e., etching, electroless plating with gold, monolayer deposition and immobilization of latex nanoparticles; were achieved in nano-scale resolution. The area-selectivity was based on the differences in chemical properties between the SPM-modified and unmodified regions.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
• /
• v.21 no.5
• /
• pp.174-181
• /
• 2004

This paper presents the development of a magnetostrictive microactuator. The structural and functional requirements are as follows: it must be a millimeter structure and must achieve controllable displacement with nanometer resolution. Finite Element Analysis(FEA) is used to determine the structure with the most uniform and highest magnetic flux density along the Terfenol-D rod. The microactuator prototype 1 is designed and made based on the FEA. It is observed that the microactuator show some level of hysteresis and that it produces 25 newton in force and 3 ${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$ in displacement with 1.5 amperes of current, and resolution of 250 nm per 0.1 amperes. To improve the performance of the microactuator prototype 1, microactuator prototype 2 is made again with a permanent magnet (PM). It is observed that the microactuator prototype 2 gene.ates 3.3 ${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$ in displacement with 0.9 amperes of current. It means that the microactuator prototype 2 performs better than the microactuator prototype 1.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.45 no.1
• /
• pp.16-25
• /
• 2022

Mechanical forces play pivotal roles in regulating cell shape, function, and fate. Key players that govern the mechanobiological interplay are the mechanosensitive proteins found on cell membranes and in cytoskeleton. Their unique nanomechanics can be interrogated using single-molecule tweezers, which can apply controlled forces to the proteins and simultaneously measure the ensuing structural changes. Breakthroughs in high-resolution tweezers have enabled the routine monitoring of nanometer-scale, millisecond dynamics as a function of force. Undoubtedly, the advancement of structural biology will be further fueled by integrating static atomic-resolution structures and their dynamic changes and interactions observed with the force application techniques. In this minireview, we will introduce the general principles of single-molecule tweezers and their recent applications to the studies of force-bearing proteins, including the synaptic proteins that need to be categorized as mechanosensitive in a broad sense. We anticipate that the impact of nano-precision approaches in mechanobiology research will continue to grow in the future.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers Conference
• /
• 2004.11a
• /
• pp.283-288
• /
• 2004

The measurement of ultra low aspect ratio fluid film thickness is very crucial technique both for the verification of lubrication media characteristics and for the clearance design in many precision components such as MEMS, precision bearings and other slideways. Many technologies are applied to the measurement of ultra low aspect ratio fluid film thickness (i.e. elastohydrodynamic lubrication film thickness). In particular, in-situ optical interferometric method has many advantages in making the actual contact behaviors realized with the experimental apparatus. This measurement method also does the monitoring of the surface defects and fractures happening during the contact behavior, which are delicately influenced by the surface conditions such as load, velocity, lubricant media as well as surface roughness. Careful selection of incident lights greatly enhances the fringe resolutions up to $\~1.0$ nanometer scale with digital image processing technology. In this work, it is found that coaxial aligning trichromatic incident light filtering system developed by the author can provide much finer resolution of ultra low aspect ratio fluid film thickness than monochromatic or dichromatic incident lights, because it has much more spectrums of color components to be discriminated according the variations of film thickness. For the measured interferometric images of ultra low aspect ratio fluid film thickness it is shown how the film thickness is finely digitalized and measured in nanometer scale with digital image processing technology and space layer method. The developed measurement system can make it possible to visualize the contact deformations and possible fractures of contacting surface under the repeated loading condition.

• International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing
• /
• v.9 no.3
• /
• pp.51-54
• /
• 2008

A novel stereolithography method using evanescent light has been proposed as a means to realize 100-nanometer resolution. An in-process measurement system with high accuracy has been introduced to the nanostereolithography apparatus. Specifically, an optical microscopic system was developed to monitor the exposure process and a confocal positioning system was established to improve the longitudinal positioning accuracy in the layer-by-layer process. A high-power objective lens, a tube lens, and a charge coupled device (CCD) were included in the optical microscopic system, whereas a laser, a high-power objective lens, a piezoelectric (PZT) stage, a condenser lens, a pinhole, and a photomultiplier (PMT) made up the confocal microscopic system. Two verification experiments were conducted, and the results indicated that the optical microscopic system had a horizontal resolution of 200 nm and that the confocal positioning system provided a depth resolution of 30.8 nm. These results indicate that nanostereolithography can be successfully performed with this system.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.195-201
• /
• 2002

We propose a new scheme of high-resolution heterodyne interferometer that employs the two-axial mode He-Ne laser with an inter-mode beat frequency of 600~1000 MHz. An electronic RF-heterodyne circuit lowers the beat frequency down to 5 MHz, so that the phase change of the interferometer output is precisely measured with a displacement resolution of 0.1 nanometer without significant loss of dynamic bandwidth. A thermal control scheme is adopted to stabilize the cavity length with ainus to suppress frequency drifts caused by the phenomena of frequency pulling and polarization anisotropy of the two-axial made laser to a stability level of 2 parts in $10^9$. The two-axial mode HeNe laser yields a high output power of 2.0 mW, which allows us to perform multiple measurements of up to 10 machine axes simultaneously.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Technology Engineers
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.270-277
• /
• 2015

In this paper, we describe the production of a specific electrostatic-type scanning electron microscope based on miniaturization for application in other types of vacuum equipment. The initial configuration of the SEM starts with a minimal configuration that allows people to view sample images. After improving the stability of the SEM operation and resolution, we conducted experiments on identifying the characteristics and development of an einzel-type condenser lens with reference to the demagnification lens system of an SEM. The experiments were conducted at an acceleration voltage of 5 kV and we found the shape of the lens to be more reliable than a conventional lens. The lens was then added to improve the resolution in the nanometer region. The current measured on the sample was approximately 40 pA and its magnification was 4,000 times.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
• /
• v.15 no.12
• /
• pp.169-179
• /
• 1998

Plane mirror type laser interferometers are popularly being used in many modern ultraprecision machines, as they can perform simultaneous measurements of multiple axis positions with nanometer resolution capabilities. One important issue in this application of laser interferometers is to provide a good level of alignment between the reflecting mirrors and the laser beams so that measurement errors due to undesirable coupling effects can be avoided in multiple axis measurements In this investigation, a thorough metrological analysis is given to develop an suitable mathematical model for a precision x-y stage in which the orthogonality misalignment between the reflecting mirrors significantly affects overall x-y mea-surement results. Then a noble calibration method is suggested in which two-dimensional displacement sensors of moire gratings of concentric circles are used to realize the reversal principle of orthogonality evaluation in situ. Finally, actual experimental results are discussed to verify that the suggested method can effectively calibrate the orthogonality error with an uncertainty of 0.2667 arcsec.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
• /
• 2004.10a
• /
• pp.401-404
• /
• 2004

The electron beam machining provides very high resolution up to nanometer scale, hence the E-beam writing technology is rapidly growing in MEMS and nano-engineering areas. In the optical column of the e-beam writer, there are several lenses condensing and focusing electron beams from electron gun with fringing magnetic fields. To achieve small spot size as 1-2 nm for higher power of electron beam, magnetic lenses should be designed considering their magnetic field distribution. In this paper, the magnetic field at two condenser lenses and object lens are calculated with finite element method and discussed its performances.