Manipulation of Ag nanoparticles utilizing noncontact atomic force microscopy

We have developed a scheme to manipulate metallic aerosol particles on silicon dioxide substrates using an atomic force microscope. The method utilizes the noncontact mode both for locating and moving nanoparticles of size 10-100 nm. The main advantage of our technique is the possibility of "seeing" the moving particle in real time. Our method avoids well sticking problems that typically hamper the manipulation in the contact mode. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.