An Instrumental Platform for Identifying, Collecting, and Analyzing Particles with Micron and Submicron Dimensions

As microanalytical techniques advance and modern technologies continue to miniaturize, there exists a growing need for particle manipulation instrumentation with greater resolution and specific selectivity on a small micrometer (μm) to nanometer (nm) scale. The need for an instrumental platform which can spatially resolve μm-sized particles is apparent in microanalytical fields, such as nuclear forensics and semiconductors, which require the identification of micron-sized particles and non-destructive relocation to enable sequential analyses via several complementary analytical platforms. Advanced manufacturing industries, such as microelectronics, would also benefit from μm- to nm-scale particle manipulation and analysis technologies to generate advanced materials and remove contaminants. An instrumental platform has been designed with the ability to efficiently identify particles of interest on a sample with μm- to nm-scale precision, collect the particles in a non-destructive, non- contaminating manner, and relocate them to another location for placement or further analyses. The platform employs a simple, elegant approach combining optical imaging for fast particle identification with a micromanipulation system for particle relocation. Software will be developed to both manually and electronically identify and manipulate particles of interest for the desired application. An instrumental platform will be designed and constructed with the capability to identify individual particles of refractory materials with dimensions between 0.1 and 1000 μm, collect said particles, and relocate the particles to another location for further analysis. Software will be developed for instrumental control in a manual, interactive mode which allows control of the particle relocation and generation of analytical data via the optical system. Additional software will be developed to enable the automatic location and collection of specific particles and images without the need for constant user input. The instrumental platform, along with the accompanying software, will be tested using well- suited model systems for further development, modification, and optimization. The described instrumental platform is customizable and directly applicable to many commercial industries and advanced sectors, including microanalytical fields such as nuclear forensics (identified by the U.S. Department of Energy), advanced technology manufacturers, such as semiconductors, electronics, smart materials, and sensor technologies, and academic laboratories. Microanalytical industries will benefit by the improved resolution of the platform and the ability to manipulate specific particles in a non-destructive, non-contaminating manner. The developed instrumentation can also improve a variety of micro- and nano-technologies by providing a platform which can non-destructively rearrange particulate materials in desired patterns without contamination. Phase II efforts will focus on the optimization and prototyping as well as customer and beta-tester identification for the platform.