Patent ID: 8657962

Claim:
A method for removing a particle attached on a surface of a sample to be cleaned, the method comprising: providing nano tweezers having a pair of arms with respective gripping sections that are openable and closable to open and close the tweezers, and providing an adhesion member placed separately from the sample to be cleaned; wherein the pair of arms comprises a first arm and a second arm integrally formed on a support, such that one end of each of the first and second arms is fixed to the support and the other end of each of the first and second arms is free, the first arm is connected through a connecting member with an electrostatic actuator arranged on the support, and moves with respect to the second arm when driven by the electrostatic actuator to close or open the arms, which in turn closes or opens the nano tweezers with a mechanical force transmitted from the electrostatic actuator to the first arm through the connecting member, and the adhesion member is arranged on a stage; moving the arms of the nano tweezers toward the surface of the sample to be cleaned and gripping the particle attached on the surface of the sample with the gripping sections of the arms by closing the gripping sections; moving the arms of the nano tweezers gripping the particle onto the adhesion member such that the particle contacts the adhesion member; opening the gripping sections of the arms of the nano tweezers to release the particle from the nano tweezers while the particle is held on the adhesion member, and moving the nano tweezers away from the adhesion member to leave the particle on the adhesion member, thereby cleaning the surface of the sample.