Atomic and close-to-atomic scale manufacturing: perspectives and measures

摘要

This article presents the three paradigms of manufacturing advancement:Manufacturing I,craft-based manufacturing by hand,as in the Stone,Bronze,and Iron Ages,in which manufacturing precision was at the millimeter scale;ManufacturingⅡ,precision-controllable manufacturing using machinery whereby the scales of material removal,migration,and addition were reduced from millimeters to micrometers and even nanometers;and Manufacturing Ⅲ,manufacturing objectives and processes are directly focused on atoms,spanning the macro-through the micro-to the nanoscale,whereby manufacturing is based on removal,migration,and addition at the atomic scale,namely,atomic and close-to-atomic scale manufacturing(ACSM).A typical characteristic of ACSM is that energy directly impacts the atom to be removed,migrated,and added.ACSM,as the next generation of manufacturing technology,will be employed to build atomic-scale features for required functions and performance with the capacity of mass production.It will be the leading development trend in manufacturing technology and will play a significant role in the manufacturing of high-end components and future products.