Scientists have taken the tiny house trend to a whole new level.
Using a new nanorobotic system, French scientists built a ‘microhouse’ on top of an optical fiber that’s as thin as human hair, which is 75 microns thick.
It measures just 20 micrometers across but has several stunningly accurate details, including a front door, windows and even a tiled roof.
A team of French scientists from the Femto-ST Institute built a 20-micrometer wide ‘microhouse’ (pictured) on top of an optical fiber to demonstrate a new nanorobotic system
A team of French scientists from the Femto-ST Institute detailed the process of creating the microhouse in new study published Friday in the Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A.
The new nanorobotic system, called μRobotex, uses a combination of technologies, including a tiny maneuverable robot, a focused ion beam and a gas injection device.
To construct the microhouse, the scientists used a mix of origami and nanometer-precise robotics.
‘In this new type of nanolab, cutting, etching, folding, assembling and then welding thin membranes of silica on top of a cleaved optical fiber…or production of micro- and nanostructures, like the microhouse, are possible,’ according to the study.
The scientists said the process of building the microhouse is not unlike ‘making a giant dice from a piece of paper’.
A focused ion beam acts like scissors, tracing and cutting out the shape of the house.
The scientists said the process of building the microhouse is not unlike ‘making a giant dice from a piece of paper’. A focused ion beam acts like scissors, cutting the shape of the house
The ion beam microscope is not miniature, but it’s still able to operate with ‘ultrahigh accuracy’ of as little as 2 nanometers. A gas injection device forces the walls to stick together
The walls then fold into position by a process called ‘sputtering’, in which thin membranes of materials like metals or polymers are folded, similar to origami.
Finally, a gas injection system sticks the edges of the structure together, so that it can it can maintain its shape.
The robot operates with ‘ultrahigh accuracy’ of as little as 2 nanometers.
For the experiment, the ion gun was restricted to focusing on an area that was only 300 micrometers by 300 micrometers, where it had to accurately fire ions onto the fiber tip.
A micrometer measures in at just one-millionth of a meter.
Using a new nanorobotic system, scientists built a ‘microhouse’ on top of an optical fiber that’s as thin as human hair. The robot was working with a space that was just 300 micrometers wide
‘It’s very challenging to pilot the robot with high accuracy at this cross point between the two beams,’ said Jean-Yves Rauch, an author on the paper.
The scientists said many of the steps are already automated, but that they hope to make the whole process automated soon.
Eventually, they may be able to build smaller structures on the ends of carbon nanotubes that are just 20 to 100 nanometers in diameter.
‘With this advancement, optical fibers as thin as human hair can be inserted into inaccessible locations like jet engines and blood vessels to detect radiation levels or viral molecules,’ the study noted.