3 ms·

positioning a single atom is doable with a STM, right? And hobbyists are making STMs, right? Beating the fabs at their own game? Not likely. But maybe another

positioning a single atom is doable with a STM, right? And hobbyists are making STMs, right? Beating the fabs at their own game? Not likely. But maybe another game, probably.

nynx 6y ago
It seems that bonding atoms in 3D using an STM is very difficult, if not impossible. We'll probably have self-assembling molecular processors before then.
- philipswood 6y ago
  I don't think you'd need to bond them. I imagine you could put down a "wire" of metal atoms without too much trouble. Something like a capacitor shouldn't be too difficult if you could put down a dielectric. Not sure about how to do a transistor - maybe there could be an alternative "switch". Yeah, I'm hand-waving. And maybe the metal substrate an STM uses is a non-starter. But still, atomic precision seems to be in hobbyists reach and I imagine SOME approach to low volume tiny circuits are possible that would not be economically viable in terms of RnD and fab for "big silicon".
  - nynx 6y ago
    Okay. It's probably possible. Hobbyist tooling isn't there yet though. I'm actually developing a DIY atomic force microscope, for other use-cases though. STMs are very limited though. The kinds of atoms you can pick up are pretty limited afaik. Give it a couple of years, maybe 5-10, and there will probably be hobbyists moving atoms around. The industry and academia will, of course, probably be further along.
AareyBaba 6y ago
STM = Scanning tunneling microscope
philipswood 6y ago
I love that reading is a constructive process: you can get something out that the author maybe didn't put in. I remember reading a book about organic farming that made a great point: (paraphrasing) As a home organic gardener you might think that you can't compete with a commercial farmer, but... Say you want to make a tomato dish. You want the most succulent tomato with the softest skin. The commercial farmer needs to choose a variety that has a skin though enough to pick mechanically or by rough hands. At home you can go as soft as you want to. You can pick it and cook immediately. The commercial farmer needs to use a variety that can be picked green and ripened. Etc. Different scale, different constraints, different opportunities.

positioning a single atom is doable with a STM, right? And hobbyists are making STMs, right? Beating the fabs at their own game? Not likely. But maybe another game, probably.

nynx 6y ago

It seems that bonding atoms in 3D using an STM is very difficult, if not impossible. We'll probably have self-assembling molecular processors before then.

philipswood 6y ago
I don't think you'd need to bond them. I imagine you could put down a "wire" of metal atoms without too much trouble. Something like a capacitor shouldn't be too difficult if you could put down a dielectric. Not sure about how to do a transistor - maybe there could be an alternative "switch". Yeah, I'm hand-waving. And maybe the metal substrate an STM uses is a non-starter. But still, atomic precision seems to be in hobbyists reach and I imagine SOME approach to low volume tiny circuits are possible that would not be economically viable in terms of RnD and fab for "big silicon".
- nynx 6y ago
  Okay. It's probably possible. Hobbyist tooling isn't there yet though. I'm actually developing a DIY atomic force microscope, for other use-cases though. STMs are very limited though. The kinds of atoms you can pick up are pretty limited afaik. Give it a couple of years, maybe 5-10, and there will probably be hobbyists moving atoms around. The industry and academia will, of course, probably be further along.

AareyBaba 6y ago

STM = Scanning tunneling microscope

philipswood 6y ago

I love that reading is a constructive process: you can get something out that the author maybe didn't put in. I remember reading a book about organic farming that made a great point: (paraphrasing) As a home organic gardener you might think that you can't compete with a commercial farmer, but... Say you want to make a tomato dish. You want the most succulent tomato with the softest skin. The commercial farmer needs to choose a variety that has a skin though enough to pick mechanically or by rough hands. At home you can go as soft as you want to. You can pick it and cook immediately. The commercial farmer needs to use a variety that can be picked green and ripened. Etc. Different scale, different constraints, different opportunities.