A micro-nano cleaning robot working on a solid interface and its use method

Abstract

The present invention relates to a micro-nano cleaning robot operating on a solid interface and a method for use thereof, comprising a micro-nano robot body and an in vitro control unit; the in vitro control unit drives and captures the micro-nano robot on the solid interface through the photothermal shock effect of a pulsed laser, uses an electric control module in the in vitro control unit to control the position of the captured light spot, guides the micro-nano robot to move on the solid interface, adsorbs or drives away identified target stains, and achieves the goal of autonomously cleaning microscopic areas. The micro-nano robot has an extremely small structural size and can operate within a very small microscopic range for precise cleaning; by combining image recognition technology (or algorithms) in deep learning, a cleaning path is rationally planned, and the electric control module is used to adjust the light spot position to fully control the movement of the micro-nano robot on the solid interface, thereby achieving the goal of autonomously and efficiently cleaning microscopic areas. This provides new ideas for the development of the field of microstructure cleaning and can be widely used in real-world scientific research and industrial scenarios.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a micro-cleaning technology, and in particular to a micro-nano cleaning robot working on a solid interface and a use method thereof. Background Art

[0002] With the development of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and micro-nanotechnology, micro-nanorobotics have become important research targets in micro-nano manufacturing, in vivo detection, drug delivery, and micro-UAVs. Micro-nanoscale devices often require high surface cleanliness to ensure their quality, thus creating a need for cleaning microscopic areas. Examples include decontamination of photosensitive microchips or optical fiber end faces and dust removal from semiconductor materials.

[0003] Due to the increased specific surface area caused by the size effect, friction at the nanoscale increases dramatically, significantly hindering the motion of micro-nanorobotics on solid interfaces, let alone cleaning microscopic surfaces. Currently, the main methods for driving micro-nanorobotics fall into three categories: external field excitation, self-propelled, and bio-hybrid actuation. Common external field excitation methods include magnetic field, ultrasonic, electric field, and optical actuation; self-propelled motion utilizes enzymes or chemical reactions to generate power; and bio-hybrid actuation includes bacteria-based actuation and cell-based actuation. However, these actuation technologies are limited to specific environmental conditions, such as liquid environments, or require special processing, such as enzyme encapsulation or catalyst addition. Therefore, current research focuses on micro-nanorobotics operating in fluid environments or with complex structures. However, the complexity and fluidity of fluid environments lead to poor stability, low precision, and short control time in practical applications of micro-nanorobotics. Furthermore, the liquid environment itself is highly susceptible to contamination, which seriously hinders the development of micro-nanorobotics. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of the problems that traditional micro-nano robots usually have complex structure, difficult driving, poor precision, low flexibility, and cannot work directly on solid interfaces, a micro-nano cleaning robot working on solid interfaces and its usage method are proposed. It has a simple structure, good stability, high precision, strong flexibility, wide applicability, and intelligence.

[0005] The technical solution of the present invention is: a micro-nano cleaning robot working on a solid interface, comprising a micro-nano robot body and an in vitro control unit;

[0006] The in vitro control unit drives and captures the micro-nano robot body on the solid interface through the photothermal shock effect of the pulsed laser, uses the electric control module in the in vitro control unit to control the position of the captured light spot, guides the micro-nano robot body to move on the solid interface, adsorbs or drives away the identified target stains, and achieves the goal of autonomously cleaning the microscopic area.

[0007] Preferably, the micro-nano robot body includes a chassis and a carrier; the chassis is a driving element used for cleaning; the carrier is a sensing element, a communication element or an end effector element, which is a necessary component of the non-micro-nano robot body and is used to detect changes in the robot itself or the surrounding environment, communicate with an in vitro control unit, and push external micro-nano particles.

[0008] Preferably, the chassis is composed of a nanosheet of any shape or a combination of multiple nanosheets, and the thickness of a single nanosheet is ≤5 μm.

[0009] Preferably, the chassis is made of a light-heat-absorbing metal or semiconductor material.

[0010] Preferably, the pulse laser output wavelength range is 300nm~2μm, and the pulse width range is 50fs~100μs.

[0011] Preferably, the solid interface is a dielectric material or a metal material substrate.

[0012] Preferably, the target stain is nanodroplets, nanoparticles or dust.

[0013] A method for using a micro-nano cleaning robot working on a solid interface comprises the following steps:

[0014] 1) Before the cleaning task begins, the image acquisition system samples the target area image and transmits the image to the computer. The computer uses the established stain detection model to perform stain detection on the sampling results to determine whether there are nanodroplets or nanoparticles that serve as stains;

[0015] 2) Based on the location of the nanodroplets or nanoparticles in the detection results, the computer plans the cleaning path of the micro-nano robot;

[0016] 3) The in vitro control unit first turns on the pulsed laser to capture the micro-nano robot, and then uses the electric control module in the in vitro control unit to adjust the position of the light spot or substrate to drive and control the movement of the micro-nano robot so that it cleans the target area according to the planned path;

[0017] 4) After cleaning is completed, the image acquisition system collects the target area image again and transmits it to the computer for stain detection. Based on the detection results, it is determined whether to enter the cleaning cycle mode or exit the cleaning task.

[0018] Furthermore, the stain detection model establishment method is as follows: using an image acquisition system to collect a large number of solid interface images contaminated by nanodroplets or nanoparticles, transmitting them to a computer for annotation, and establishing a data set of training samples; establishing a deep learning neural network through training in the computer to generate a stain detection model.

[0019] The beneficial effects of the present invention are: the micro-nano cleaning robot and cleaning method working on the solid interface of the present invention utilize the photothermal shock effect of pulsed laser to solve the problems of driving and motion control at the same time, and can directly control the movement of the micro-nano cleaning robot on the solid interface. The control effect is efficient and accurate, which solves the problem that traditional micro-nano robots are limited by the working environment and difficult to drive; the micro-nano robot has a simple structure and a simple control method, and does not require complex preparation processes and control devices. Therefore, it has low cost and strong universality, and can be widely used in real life; the micro-nano robot has an extremely small structural size and can work in a very small microscopic range for precise cleaning; combined with the image recognition technology (or algorithm) in deep learning, the cleaning path is reasonably planned, and the electric control module is used to adjust the light spot position to fully control the movement of the micro-nano robot on the solid interface, thereby achieving the goal of autonomous and efficient cleaning of microscopic areas, providing new ideas for the development of the field of microstructure cleaning. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Figure 1 This is an optical microscope image of the micro-nano cleaning robot of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 2 This is a control flow chart of the micro-nano cleaning robot of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 3 Optical microscope images of the cleaning nanodroplets of the micro-nano cleaning robot before and after use;

[0023] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the driving control principle of the micro-nano cleaning robot of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 5 SEM images and optical microscope images of a micro-nano robot according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 6 These are optical microscope images before and after the micro-nano cleaning robot cleans nanoparticles according to another embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The present invention is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. This embodiment is implemented based on the technical solution of the present invention, and provides a detailed implementation method and specific operation process, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

[0027] The present invention provides a micro-nano cleaning robot that works on a solid interface. The robot is driven and captured by the photothermal shock effect of a pulsed laser. Image recognition and deep learning are combined to identify stains and rationally plan paths. An electric control module is then used to control the position of the light spot, guiding the robot to move on the solid interface to adsorb or drive away the identified stains, thereby achieving the goal of efficiently and autonomously cleaning microscopic areas.

[0028] The micro-nano robot is an independent triangular nanosheet, but is not limited thereto. The robot can be composed of a nanosheet of any shape or a combination of multiple nanosheets, with a single nanosheet having a thickness of ≤1 μm.

[0029] The material of the micro-nano robot is preferably gold, but is not limited thereto. Most photothermal absorption materials can be used as raw materials for the micro-nano cleaning robot, such as metals, semiconductors, etc.

[0030] The interface on which the micro-nano robot works is a quartz substrate, but is not limited thereto. Dielectric or metal substrates are all within the cleanable range.

[0031] Micro-nano robots target, but are not limited to, nanodroplets. They also clean nanoparticles and dust. Gold nanosheets, due to their small size and large surface area, possess a high specific surface area. This means they have a relatively high number of surface atoms, making them highly adsorbable to water molecules, thus cleaning nanodroplets. Furthermore, with their powerful output thrust, gold nanosheets can directly push target particles or dust out of the cleaning area.

[0032] The micro-nano robot is driven by the photothermal shock effect of a pulsed laser and is trapped at the center of the light spot. The movement of the micro-nano robot is effectively controlled by controlling the position of the light spot. The pulsed laser output wavelength ranges from 300nm to 2μm, and the pulse width ranges from 50fs to 100μs.

[0033] The micro-nano cleaning robot automatically cleans nanoparticles or nanodroplets on a solid interface, where the solid interface is a dielectric or metal plane.

[0034] The micro-nano cleaning robot includes an image acquisition system, an in vitro control unit and a micro-nano robot manufactured by vapor deposition. Figure 1 This is an optical microscope image of the micro-nano cleaning robot (gold nanosheet) used in this embodiment, which appears as a regular triangular nanosheet. Figure 2 : is a control flow chart of the micro-nano cleaning robot in this embodiment. The specific steps of the micro-nano cleaning robot for cleaning the surface of a quartz substrate contaminated by nano-droplets are as follows:

[0035] An image acquisition system collects a large number of images of quartz substrates contaminated with nanodroplets, which are then transmitted to a computer for annotation to create a training dataset. A deep learning neural network is trained on the computer to generate a stain detection model for the nanodroplet-stain relationship. Before the cleaning task begins, the target area is sampled and the established stain detection model is used to detect the presence of nanodroplets, which could represent stains. The location of the nanodroplets detected in the detection results is then used to plan the cleaning path for the micro-nano robot. An external control unit first activates a pulsed laser to capture the micro-nano robot. The motorized control module within the control unit then adjusts the laser spot or substrate position to control the movement of the micro-nano robot, ensuring that it cleans the target area according to the planned path. After cleaning is complete, the image acquisition system captures another image of the target area and transmits it to the computer for stain detection. The detection results determine whether to enter a cleaning cycle or exit the cleaning task. This closed-loop control process for the micro-nano robot incorporates a feedback mechanism, enabling autonomous cleaning.

[0036] Figure 3 These are optical microscope images of a quartz substrate contaminated by nanodroplets in this embodiment before and after being cleaned by the micro-nano robot. The nanodroplets in the target area are completely removed, achieving an ideal cleaning effect. Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the principle of driving and controlling a micro-nano robot. When a pulsed laser acts on the micro-nano robot (gold nanosheet) under the control of an electric control module, the robot quickly converts light energy into its own thermal energy and expands rapidly. This transient thermal expansion exerts a huge impact on the robot itself, allowing the micro-nano robot to overcome interface resistance and be driven to produce a net displacement. The movement of the micro-nano robot can be completely controlled by adjusting the position of the light spot, achieving the goal of efficient and autonomous cleaning of microscopic areas.

[0037] Figure 5 The following are SEM images and optical microscope images of a micro-nano robot according to another embodiment of the present invention. The micro-nano robot body in this embodiment is composed of a chassis and a payload. Figure 6 These are the optical microscope images before and after the cleaning nanoparticles corresponding to this embodiment. The micro-nanoparticles in the target area can be directly ejected from the cleaning area by the robot with a strong thrust.

[0038] The chassis of the micro-nano robot is prepared by vapor deposition, and materials grown by other methods (such as liquid phase growth) can also be driven. The cleaning interface can also be a curved surface, but the cleaning effect is not as good as a flat surface.

[0039] The above-described embodiments merely illustrate several implementations of the present invention, and while their descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of the patent. It should be noted that a person skilled in the art would be able to make numerous variations and improvements without departing from the spirit of the present invention, all of which fall within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the patent for this invention shall be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A micro-nano cleaning robot working on a solid interface, characterized in that: It includes an image acquisition system, a micro-nano robot body and an in vitro control unit; The image acquisition system samples the target area image on the solid interface for target stain identification; The in vitro control unit drives and captures the micro-nano robot body on the solid interface through the photothermal shock effect of the pulsed laser, and uses the electric control module in the in vitro control unit to control the position of the captured light spot, guiding the micro-nano robot body to move on the solid interface, adsorbing or driving away the identified target stains, and achieving the goal of autonomously cleaning the microscopic area; The micro-nano robot body includes a chassis and a carrying object; The chassis is a driving element for cleaning; The payload is a sensor element, a communication element or an end-effector element, which is used to detect changes in the robot itself or the surrounding environment, communicate with an external control unit, and propel external micro-nano particles; The chassis is composed of a nanosheet of any shape or a combination of multiple nanosheets, with a thickness of a single nanosheet ≤ 1 μm; The chassis is made of a metal or semiconductor material that absorbs light and heat; The pulse laser output wavelength range is 300nm~2μm, and the pulse width range is 50fs~100μs.

2. The micro-nano cleaning robot working on a solid interface according to claim 1, characterized in that: The solid interface is a dielectric material or a metal material substrate.

3. The micro-nano cleaning robot working on a solid interface according to claim 2, characterized in that: The target stain is a nano droplet or a nano particle.

4. A method for using a micro-nano cleaning robot working on a solid interface, characterized in that: Using the micro-nano cleaning robot working on a solid interface as described in claim 3 to clean target stains on the solid interface specifically comprises the following steps: 1) Before the cleaning task begins, the image acquisition system samples the target area image and transmits the sampled image to the computer. The computer uses the established stain detection model to perform stain detection on the sampling results to determine whether there are nanodroplets or nanoparticles that serve as stains. 2) Based on the location of the nanodroplets or nanoparticles in the detection results, the computer plans the cleaning path of the micro-nano robot body; 3) The in vitro control unit first turns on the pulsed laser to capture the micro-nano robot body, and then uses the electric control module in the in vitro control unit to adjust the position of the light spot to drive and control the movement of the micro-nano robot body, so that it cleans the target area according to the planned path; 4) After cleaning is completed, the image acquisition system collects images of the target area again and transmits them to the computer for stain detection. Based on the detection results, it is determined whether to enter the cleaning cycle mode or exit the cleaning task.

5. The method for using the micro-nano cleaning robot working on a solid interface according to claim 4, characterized in that: The stain detection model establishment method comprises the following steps: using an image acquisition system to collect a large number of images of solid interfaces contaminated by nanodroplets or nanoparticles, transmitting them to a computer for annotation, and establishing a data set of training samples; and establishing a deep learning neural network through training in the computer to generate a stain detection model.

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