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LEGO Scanning Probe Microscope

LEGO Scanning Probe Microscope. Team Members: Charles Evans Varun Sinha Tarun J. Siripurapu Patrick Sweeney Benjamin Wallace Jason Valestin Team TA: Dong Guo Date: May 8,2004. Project Partners: Mark Lundstrom, NSF Network for Computational Nanotechnology

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LEGO Scanning Probe Microscope

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  1. LEGO Scanning Probe Microscope Team Members: Charles Evans Varun Sinha Tarun J. Siripurapu Patrick Sweeney Benjamin Wallace Jason Valestin Team TA: Dong Guo Date: May 8,2004 Project Partners: Mark Lundstrom, NSF Network for Computational Nanotechnology Supriyo Datta, NASA Institute on Nanotechnology and Computing George Adams, Birck Nanotechnology Center Julie Conlon, Department of Physics Carla Zoltowski, EPICS Corporate Sponser: Faculty Advisors: Prof. Michael Melloch Prof. Ron Reifenberger

  2. 100 million times smaller 0.03 m 0.0000000003 m The “2x2” LEGO block forms the basic building block in any LEGO project At the nanoscale, atoms form the basic building blocks -Nanotechnology – It’s like building with LEGOs at the atomic scale! How big is a nanometer?

  3. What is Nanotechnology? • The precision placement, measurement, manipulation, and modeling of matter on an extremely small scale • Nanotechnology is a blend of materials science, engineering, physics, chemistry and biology • Examples of nanotechnology in the future: programmable drug delivery system, non-volatile flash memory for computers, and much more • Scanning Probe Microscopes (SPM) provide a topography of tiny substrates allowing one to “see” at the atomic level. The tip of the SPM runs across the landscape and records height change, and then provides a graph of the landscape in which individual atoms can be identified

  4. Resources Used • Equipment List: • LEGO Mindstorms Kit • Personal Computers • 3 axis linear stage w/ stepper motor control boards • Various Electrical Components (diodes, capacitors, resistors) • Assorted LEGO parts • Mirror (Optical Quality) • Software List: • Matlab Version 6.5 • LDraw • POVray • Not Quite C Version 2.5 (for programming the LEGO RCX) • Lab Space and Outside Resources: • MSEE289

  5. Cantilever/Table Design • Progress since last semester: • Dropped the 3 axis linear stage so it sits “inside” the table, instead of on top of it • Added an additional bracket to support the landscape • Redesigned cantilever tip to avoid slipping • Made the table more aesthetically appealing by adding a LEGO skirt to hide metal and wires. • Replaced mirrors on the cantilever with smaller ones to reduce the weight

  6. Software/Control Design • Progress since last semester: • Graphical User Interface (GUI) • Made the GUI more aesthetically pleasing and also more child/user friendly • Updated the color scheme and added logos • Code • Condensed and commented the code for future use. • Imaging • Used POVray and LDraw to create a more “LEGO-like” image.

  7. Example of a Scan

  8. Scanned Imagery 1. Interpolated Scan 2. Scan w/ generated points based on LEGO size 3. Generated Image using LDraw & POVray

  9. Educational Materials • Posters • Created 3 posters to help to educate an audience on nanotechnology and SPMs, recent developments, and the misconceptions associated with nanotechnology • Animations • Created Flash animations of a real Scanning Probe Microscope accompanied by educational information. • Competitions • Came in second place in the ASEE student project poster competition http://epics.ecn.purdue.edu/lspm

  10. Future Improvements • Existing project: • Finalize all aspects of the project • Contact a museum for a possible exhibit in the future • New project: • Develop a smaller/portable scanning probe microscope • Adding lighting and other filters to give a more polished look • Education • Education is the primary goal of the LSPM team, Therefore our mission of educating the public is our on- going

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