Why gemstone metamaterial technology should work in brief

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The idea of atomically precise gemstone based on-chip factories and their technology has faced major disbelieve and push-back in the past.
Here are the probably hardest arguments for this tech to be actually possible summarized in as brief a way as possible.

Regarding concerns about friction

Coaxial nanotube bearing based nano-motors have been experimentally built and tested. While still very crude they already show very little friction. Much unlike the problems with sticktion and wear in photolithographically produced MEMS systems. – Coaxial nanotubes are quite similar in characteristics to crystolecule bearing so the working nanotube bearings give experimental evidence for crystolecular elements working with low friction an wear free.

Concerns about friction have been experimentally dispelled (not only theoretically).
Coaxial nanotubes are already experimentally accessible and they indeed show superlubricity.

More info on and discussion of less common concerns here:

Experimental demonstration of superlubric sliders and rotator and vdW suck-in

(wiki-TODO: Add reference to and discussion of paper.)


Pathway concerns

direct path & mixed path

Regarding concerns about atom-by-atom pick-and-place assembly aka piezochemical mechanosynthesis.

  • ED … experimental demonstration
  • TA … theoretical analysis

ED – scanning in 3D (high vertical ledges) is now possible

ED – strong covalent nano-molecular manipulation in 3D

ED – SPM manipulations being automateable and scaleable

ED – elemental identification of element types via force curves

(wiki-TODO: Add reference to and discussion of paper.)

EDs – progress in atomically resolving nc-AFM on AP nanographenes

Graphene sp2 carbon nanoribbons:

Less flat sp3 carbon too under special circumstances:

Nanoribbons have a problem with termination control in their bottom up synthesis.
But there is progress on this front too:

ED – preserving of tip apex structure during transfer to a different macroscale sample (and back)

(wiki-TODO: Add reference to best fitting COFI paper (& …) and discussion of paper.)

ED – progress with ultra flat surfaces

ED – progress with potential "adapter molecules"

(wiki-TODO: Add reference to and discussion of papers.)

  • several papers
  • transfer paper & conductivity paper

ED – progress in covalent bond formation control (2D for now)

ED – progress in STM control

(wiki-TODO: Add reference to and discussion of papers.)

Early ED (on silicon)

Extraction an re-deposition a a single silicon atom (at 78K) was experimentally demonstrated. This gives experimental evidence for piezochemical mechanosynthesis working.

It was possible to experimentally demonstrate mechanosynthesis of silicon.
Abd that even even with today's still very crude means (meaning blunt tips).
See: Silicon mechanosynthesis demonstration paper or more generally: Experimental demonstrations of single atom manipulation

  • Silicon is a relevant material quite similar in covalent character to diamond.
  • This has been done an reasonable temperatures (meaning not liquid helium but liquid nitogen)

TA – Highly meticulous theoretical analysis (with carbon, a complete system)

It has been shown that the infamous finger problems like …
– the sticky finger problem and
– the fat finger problem
… are not valid.

See: A Minimal Toolset for Positional Diamond Mechanosynthesis (paper)

TA – older theoretical analysis on silicon mechanosynthesis

(wiki-TODO: Add reference to and discussion of papers.)

Incrementap path & mixed path

(wiki-TODO: Add reference to and discussion of papers.)

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