Traceable assembly of microparts using optical tweezers

Abstract

Assembly of components with a size in the order of tens of micrometers or less is difficult because the gravitational forces become smaller than weak forces such as capillary, electrostatic and van der Waals forces. As such, the picked-up components commonly adhere to the manipulator, making the release operation troublesome, and the repeatable supply of components cannot be guaranteed because the magazining and bunkering scheme available in conventional scale assembly cannot be extended to these small objects. Moreover, there are also no effective ways known to deliver the finalized assembly externally. In this paper, we present the manipulation and assembly of microparts using optical tweezers, which by nature do not have stiction problems. Techniques allowing bunkering and finalizing the assembly for exporting are also presented. Finally, we demonstrate an exemplary microassembly formed by assembling two microparts: a movable microring and a microrod fixed on a glass substrate. We believe this traceable microassembly to be an important step forward for micro- and nano-manufacturing.