Automated Calibration of RF On-Wafer Probing and Evaluation of Probe Misalignment Effects Using a Desktop Micro-Factory

A fully automatic setup for on-wafer contact probing will be presented. This setup consists of six automatable nano positioning axes used as tool holder and a sample holder. With this setup a fully automatic one-port SOL calibration for a Vector Network Analyzer is done. Furthermore a fully automated on-wafer contact probing is performed. Afterwards, the effects of a misalignment of the three tips of a GSG-probe are examined. Additionally the error on the calibration is calculated to determine its effect on the measurement. The results show, that a misalignment of the probe has a high impact on the measurement of the VNA. Hence a fully automated on-wafer probing presented in this paper is a good way to detect these misalignments and correct them if necessary.

Frictional shear stress of ZnO nanowires on natural and pyrolytic graphite substrates

The friction behaviour of ZnO nanowires on natural graphite(NG)and highly oriented pyrolytic graphite(HOPG)substrates was tested in ambient conditions by use of optical microscopy based nanomanipulation.Nanowires on the step-free and waviness-free NG substrate exhibit a diameter-independent nominal frictional shear stress of 0.48 MPa,and this provides a benchmark for studying how the surface topography of graphite influences nanowire friction.Nanowires on the HOPG substrate present a significant diameter-dependent frictional shear stress,increasing from 0.25 to 2.78 MPa with the decrease of nanowire diameter from 485 to 142 nm.The waviness of HOPG has a limited effect on the nanowire friction,as a nanowire can fully conform to the substrate.The surface steps on the HOPG can significantly enhance the nanowire friction and lead to a much higher frictional shear stress than that on NG due to mechanical blocking and the presence of a Schwoebel barrier at step edges.The surface steps,however,can also generate small wedge-shaped gaps between a nanowire and substrate,and thus reduce the nanowire friction.With the decrease in nanowire diameter,the capacity for the nanowire to better conform to the substrate reduces the length of the wedge-shaped gaps,leading to the observed increase in nanowire friction.The results have improved our understanding of the unique friction behaviour of nanowires.Such an improved understanding is expected to benefit the design and operation of nanowire-friction-based devices,including bio-inspired fibrillar adhesives,soft grippers,rotary nanomotors,and triboelectric nanogenerators.

Software for Small-scale Robotics: A Review

In recent years, a large number of relatively advanced and often ready-to-use robotic hardware components and systems have been developed for small-scale use. As these tools are mature, there is now a shift towards advanced applications. These often require automation and demand reliability, efficiency and decisional autonomy. New software tools and algorithms for artificial intelligence（AI） and machine learning（ML） can help here. However, since there are many software-based control approaches for small-scale robotics, it is rather unclear how these can be integrated and which approach may be used as a starting point. Therefore, this paper attempts to shed light on existing approaches with their advantages and disadvantages compared to established requirements. For this purpose, a survey was conducted in the target group. The software categories presented include vendor-provided software, robotic software frameworks（RSF）, scientific software and in-house developed software（IHDS）. Typical representatives for each category are described in detail, including Smar Act precision tool commander, Math Works Matlab and national instruments Lab VIEW, as well as the robot operating system（ROS）. The identified software categories and their representatives are rated for end user satisfaction based on functional and non-functional requirements, recommendations and learning curves. The paper concludes with a recommendation of ROS as a basis for future work.