Closed-loop controlled nanoprobing inside SEM

Probing nanostructures (e.g., nanoelectronics) requires accurate and precise nanopositioning. Furthermore, since measuring I-V data from DC to GHz typically takes more than a minute, little drift is tolerated during the data collection process. This paper reports a closed-loop controlled nanomanipulation system for operation inside a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The system consists of long range coarse positioners and high precision fine positioners. A new position sensing method was developed to achieve nanometer sensing resolution. Closed-loop controller is introduced to control fine. Experimental results demonstrate that the system is capable of automated probing of nanostructures with accuracy better than 3 nm and a drift rate <; 1 nm/min.