Patent ID: 7849515

Claim:
A nanotweezer, comprising: a supporting member; an observation probe that projects from the supporting member in a specified direction, and is used when observing a surface of a specimen; a moveable arm that is arranged next to the observation probe projecting from the supporting member in the specified direction, and is moved closer to or farther from the observation probe to hold the specimen between the observation probe and the moveable arm or release the specimen held therebetween; the observation probe and the moveable arm having respective surfaces parallel to each other for holding the specimen therebetween; and a drive mechanism that drives the moveable arm so as to move the moveable arm closer to or farther from the observation probe, wherein: the drive mechanism drives the moveable arm through thermal deformation caused by heat generated with supplied electric power or loss of heat caused by cutting the supply of power, so that the surface of the moveable arm for holding the specimen comes closer to or farther from the surface of the observation probe for holding the specimen in a state substantially parallel to each other, thereby holding the sample between the observation probe and the moveable arm or releasing the sample from therebetween.