Forging of metallic nano-objects for the fabrication of submicron-size components

In recent years, nanoscale fabrication has developed considerably, but the fabrication of free-standing nanosize components is still a great challenge. The fabrication of metallic nanocomponents utilizing three basic steps is demonstrated here. First, metallic alloys are used as factories to produce a metallic raw stock of nano-objects/nanoparticles in large numbers. These objects are then isolated from the powder containing thousands of such objects inside a scanning electron microscope using manipulators, and placed on a micro-anvil or a die. Finally, the shape of the individual nano-object is changed by nanoforging using a microhammer. In this way free-standing, high-strength, metallic nano-objects may be shaped into components with dimensions in the 100 nm range. By assembling such nanocomponents, high-performance microsystems can be fabricated, which are truly in the micrometre scale (the size ratio of a system to its component is typically 10:1). M This article features online multimedia enhancements (Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)