Invention:
This invention is a system and method used for optically positioning and linking colloidal nanoparticles using an optical tweezer. This invention allows for precise positioning and chemical coatings for linking. It is similar to a 3D printer in that it is capable of nanoscale 3D printing of objects and structures that are made of several different materials but has a much finer resolution than existing 3D printing techniques. The invention combines several tools and methods in a novel way to achieve its capability. The capability of the system to 3D print heterogeneous nanostructures is beyond any nanoscale 3D printers currently on the market.
Background:
Nanotechnology is a field of science and technology that manufactures, uses, or measures structures that have some dimensions that are less than 100 nanometers in length. Nanotechnology has recently seen an enormous amount of interest and advancement (some have even called it “the Industrial Revolution of the twenty-first century”) due to its broad range of applications across many other disciplines and fields. Some of these possibilities include medicine, energy, robotics, manufacturing, and optics. However, prototyping for research and development requires a lot of resources and it can be very expensive and time consuming with many steps involved. 3D printing has become popular in larger scale manufacturing prototyping due to its relatively high turnaround rates and lower costs of machinery. For these reasons, 3D printing on the nanoscale has also become a topic of interest in developing nanotechnology. The limitations to the current state of art nanoscale 3D printers are resolution sizes and being able to print with only one medium (usually a very specific type of material, such as photo-resins).
The invention addresses these concerns of current nano-3D printing methods by using a system in which multiple materials (ranging from plastics to metals to biological materials) can all be used in a single print, with very high resolution. The implications of this invention would be that researchers and scientists, or even smaller size businesses would be able to prototype nanotechnology at much lower costs and higher speed than current methods of creating heterogeneous nanostructures.
Applications:
- Optical metamaterial devices
- Nanoscale additive manufacturing (3D printing)
- Nanodevice and composite nanomaterial prototyping
- Optics and electronics, sensors, biology and medicine, and energy
Advantages:
- Versatile
- Works with a variety of materials
- Can 3D print heterogeneous nanostructures
- High resolution
