The birth of nanotechnology can arguably be
traced back to December 29, 1959, when Nobel
laureate Richard Feynman laid down the ultimate
scientific challenge to a roomful of colleagues:
to control and build matter atom by atom.
Though the ability to handle matter at this
scale remains elusive, researchers are closer
than ever to achieving it.
This month’s issue of MRS Bulletin showcases
how scientists are using particle beams to
meet Feynman’s challenge and, in the process,
revolutionizing how we view, understand, and
build with atoms.
In the decades following Feynman’s lecture,
researchers were making significant headway
toward atomic-level control of matter—even
if they could only see the building blocks
themselves at the time.
Using a narrow stream of electrons or ions,
researchers could resolve individual atoms
in a material.
Advances in electron microscopy have now made
high-resolution imaging of atomic systems
routine.
Along the way, scientists discovered that
electron beams can often damage materials
on the atomic level.
It wasn’t long before researchers suggested
using their microscopes to add or subtract
material at will.
In effect, they turned what appeared to be
an imaging problem—unintentional damage
to a sample—into a way of sculpting microscopic
objects.
Today, advances in that direction have equipped
researchers with the tools to do much more.
They can now deposit atoms or atom clusters
to form objects from the bottom up.
They can repair the tiny circuit elements
that will drive the next generation of computers.
And they can track the movement of single
atoms across the nano-landscapes of emerging
materials like graphene.
But before meeting Feynman’s challenge,
researchers will have to address a few others.
One is control.
While writing with particle beams has been
proven, it isn’t clear how the parameters
can be tweaked to form different structures.
Another is reproducibility.
To manufacture on the atomic scale, researchers
must make sense of the cascades of collisions
generated when a beam interacts with a target
material.
While true atomic precision remains elusive,
the gap is quickly narrowing.
The approaches highlighted in this month’s
MRS Bulletin represent important advancements
that could soon give researchers the level
of control over matter once envisioned by
Feynman.
