Meniscus Tip for Needle Type Micromanipulator(<Special Issue>The 1st Symposium on Micro-Nano Engineering)

The manipulation of small objects is difficult in micro scale, because surface force is more dominant than body force. Adhesion force between the objective and a manipulator tip due to electrostatic, Van der Waals or meniscus force makes a pick-up motion easy but a release motion difficult. Thus, we invented a "meniscus tip" with a variable adhesion force feature. The meniscus tip, having small heater on water filled capillary tube, can control the adhesion force through varying wet state of the tip by supplying or drying water. The variation of the adhesion force of several micro-Newton was measured by a movable coil voltage meter adapted to a force measurement. Additionally, the micromanipulation of small glass beads was demonstrated.