China News Service, February 27 (China News reporter Wu Tao) We usually talk about nanotechnology, but what is atomic-level manufacturing technology smaller than nanometers, what are its strengths, and what are its applications?
During the first Atomic Level Manufacturing Forum held recently, reporters from Sino-Singapore Finance interviewed many academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering as well as university experts to see what they had to say.
What is atomic level manufacturing?
Yang Huayong, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said in an interview with Sino-Singapore Finance that atomic-level manufacturing is smaller than nanometers, and atomic-level manufacturing technology is a few tenths of a nanometer.
The first Atomic Level Manufacturing Forum was held.
Photo by China News Service reporter Wu Tao
Song Fengqi, dean of the Institute of Atomic Manufacturing at Nanjing University, said that for devices, atomic-level manufacturing can achieve atomic-level precision in the device's processing capabilities, pushing the device's performance to the limit.
"Traditional manufacturing is mainly process equipment, but at the atomic level manufacturing level, materials can be broken down directly to the atomic level. Therefore, atomic level manufacturing is both material and equipment."
Wang Weihua, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said in an interview with Sino-Singapore Finance that atomic-level manufacturing has the potential to create some very tiny things and create some new materials using atoms to stack. Originally atoms are lifeless. If they are stacked too much, they will become Macromolecules may have life, which can solve many key material science problems and is a very important basic science.
Guo Dongming, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said in an interview with Sino-Singapore Finance that the accuracy of product manufacturing and the performance of materials directly affect the performance of the product. With the continuous improvement of product performance requirements, the accuracy of products has also continued to improve, and manufacturing has moved from the micron level to the micron level. Extending to the nanometer level, the next step will inevitably extend to atomic level precision.
What are the future applications?
Where are atomic-level manufacturing technologies used today?
Yang Huayong said that the most cutting-edge integrated circuits start to use sub-nanometer level below 5 nanometers, and the plane processing accuracy in the optical path system of the lithography machine must reach sub-nanometer level.
In addition, atomic-level manufacturing technology can be used everywhere in aerospace in the future, because atomic-level manufacturing is a few tenths of a nanometer, and changes in precision may change all aspects of materials.
Song Fengqi said, for example, that the atomic layer deposition technology in integrated circuits can obtain some extremely thin, extremely high-quality gate layers, allowing the integrated circuit route to be further extended.
There are also some atomic-level measurement capabilities, including electron microscopy, optical surface measurement, etc., which have reached the forefront of the industry chain.
"From the perspective of the core technological leap of the industry, atomic-level manufacturing can transform industries, such as information, energy, and biology. In these fields, atomic-level manufacturing can cultivate some emerging industries, such as the next generation of information technology. , the next generation of medical technology, the next generation of battery technology, etc.," Song Fengqi said.
Many academicians were interviewed by the media.
Photo by China News Service reporter Wu Tao
Guo Dongming said that one application direction is the integration of material equipment and product manufacturing. In the past, manufacturing often prepared materials first and then manufactured products. Material preparation and product manufacturing were separated.
As everyone's requirements for product performance are getting higher and higher, it is urgent to combine atomic-level control of materials with innovative manufacturing technologies to create high-performance products that cannot be achieved with traditional technologies.
Many experts attending the meeting believe that atomic-level manufacturing can empower high-tech industries such as integrated circuits, precision optics, and high-end sensing, and help high-quality development of industries such as information and communications, cultivate strategic emerging industries such as new material creation and high-end equipment, and support quantum technology. Information and other future industries.
Why should we pay attention to the development of atomic level manufacturing?
Song Fengqi said that the layout of scientific and technological plans and projects for atomic-level manufacturing is very large, so atomic-level manufacturing is a strategic highland where major powers are competing to deploy.
At present, the scientific foundation of atomic-level manufacturing has been initially laid and has begun to show signs of basic capabilities. This also shows that atomic-level manufacturing has huge application value.
Guo Dongming believes that atomic-level manufacturing is a strategic layout aimed at the future. Although most products in the current industry have not yet reached the level of atomic-level manufacturing, some fields have already been involved, and nano-manufacturing is no longer able to meet this requirement.
Atomic-level manufacturing is not only manufacturing with atomic precision, but more importantly, closely integrating the creation of materials with the manufacturing of products.
The reporter noticed that during the first Atomic Level Manufacturing Forum, the Atomic Level Manufacturing 100 People's Association was established.
The Atomic Level Manufacturing 100 People's Association proposes that strengthening technology development is the core task of developing atomic level manufacturing.
Academia and industry must strengthen interaction and integration, coordinate research on core technologies, industrial policies, key research routes, and application guidelines, form a collaborative promotion mechanism for industry, academia, and research, and cultivate new productivity.
Yang Huayong also believes that for atomic-level manufacturing, it is now necessary to gather breakthroughs at some points.
In this way, on the one hand, we can do deeper and more thorough basic research; on the other hand, we can focus on future key technologies and find breakthrough points to lead the development of new productivity in a few years.
Many participating experts also said that atomic-level manufacturing is the "future domain" of advanced manufacturing that the world's major powers have been competing to deploy in recent years, and it is the core "root technology" that our country must master.
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