  Actuators at the nanoscale are assuming great important in todays shrinking
electronics industry where a system-on-chip approach is used to integrate
multi-functional systems and devices. Integration of sensors, actuators,
information processing, and storage have become extremely important, more so at
the sub-micrometer scale. Here we utilized vertically aligned carbon nanotube
forests bonded onto a piezoelectric substrate to provide sensing of nanoscale
forces and actuation on the same platform. This is a demonstration of
integration of two important functions using the functionality of
nanomaterials. This has immediate utility in many areas including outer space
exploration, portable consumer electronics, embedded systems, etc.
