Engineering news
Using laser tweezers, a team of engineers have been able to create microscopic components and assemble them to larger objects. The technique could one day be used to assemble tiny micro-robots.
The team from the Applied Laser Technologies lab at the Ruhr- Universität Bochum (RUB), Germany, headed by Dr Cemal Esen, are working to establish methods to manufacture miniature machines that will be no larger than a few micrometres. They recently successfully tested several fastening techniques and are experimenting with doped materials, which can be used for rendering objects magnetic or giving them electrically conductive properties.
Basis for sophisticated technology
In order to assemble components, the group utilises so-called ‘optical tweezers’, the arms of which are made up of strongly focused light. With its aid, they are able to manipulate objects in dimensions ranging between 0.5 and 20 micrometres. In the future, this method could be used for manufacturing sophisticated technology. “It is conceivable that such modules could be used to build micro-robots,” said engineer at RUB Sarah Ksouri. “Such systems could be used for minimal invasive surgery.”
Reversible connections
The challenge is to design individual components that can be connected, but also disassembled, if required. Ksouri demonstrated this techinque by connecting microscopic jigsaw puzzles pieces that stick together because of their shape.
RUB researcher Jannis Köhler was able to assemble rotating structures with optical tweezers.
The researchers developed the components in their Bochum laboratory using a two-photon polymerization technique, a type of micro 3D printer. All spots indicated by a computer model in a drop of photoresist - a light-sensitive material used in several industrial processes, such as photolithography and photoengraving, to form a patterned coating on a surface - are exposed to a laser beam to create a solid object.
Combining methods
The team at the Applied Laser Technologies lab will continue with further experiments and hope to be able to combine two-photon polymerization, optical tweezers, and nano-doping materials to push forward the technology.