We can use simple processes to create crystals and polymers for only slightly more energy than the Gibbs energy of the resulting structure. Currently, fabricati

We can use simple processes to create crystals and polymers for only slightly more energy than the Gibbs energy of the resulting structure. Currently, fabricating custom nanostructures requires vastly more energy than that. A resist + lithography + etching process has to manipulate hundreds of atoms to get each bit of entropy. Biological systems are efficient at creating nanostructures. That may be the future of fabrication. It'll never be repeatable enough for silicon structures like DRAM, but it might someday work for bulk surfaces like solar cells.