Atomic and Close-to-Atomic Scale Manufacturing:A Review on Atomic Layer Removal Methods Using Atomic Force Microscopy

Manufacturing at the atomic scale is the next generation of the industrial revolution.Atomic and close-to-atomic scalemanufacturing(ACSM)helps to achieve this.Atomic force microscopy(AFM)is a promising method for this purposesince an instrument to machine at this small scale has not yet been developed.As the need for increasing the number ofelectronic components inside an integrated circuit chip is emerging in the present-day scenario,methods should be adoptedto reduce the size of connections inside the chip.This can be achieved using molecules.However,connecting moleculeswith the electrodes and then to the external world is challenging.Foundations must be laid to make this possible for thefuture.Atomic layer removal,down to one atom,can be employed for this purpose.Presently,theoretical works are beingperformed extensively to study the interactions happening at the molecule-electrode junction,and how electronic transportis affected by the functionality and robustness of the system.These theoretical studies can be verified experimentally only if nano electrodes are fabricated.Silicon is widely used in the semiconductor industry to fabricate electronic components.Likewise,carbon-based materials such as highly oriented pyrolytic graphite,gold,and silicon carbide find applications inthe electronic device manufacturing sector.Hence,ACSM of these materials should be developed intensively.This paperpresents a review on the state-of-the-art research performed on material removal at the atomic scale by electrochemical andmechanical methods of the mentioned materials using AFM and provides a roadmap to achieve effective mass productionof these devices.