Sept. 19, 2002 — General Nanotechnology LLC, a Berkeley, Calif., developer of hardware and software for nanoscale imaging and manipulation, announced the availability of its nanotool V series of cantilevers with diamond tips. The announcement was made at the Integrated Nanosystems 2002 show in Berkeley.

According to President Vic Kley, the device uses a thermally actuated MEMS clamping mechanism that can adjust the rigidity of its cantilever, allowing both atomic force microscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy modes.

Kley said inspection along a process line could be improved by the device’s abilities to both image and manipulate. “The next generation of semiconductors are going to need this type of tool.” Kley said the company’s ideal customer would be a company that “builds instruments and production devices.”

In addition to the cantilever, the new design incorporates channels that can be used to circulate gases or fluids across the tip. Kley said his diamond tips are available in conductive or nonconductive form, and that the device would cost about $2,000.