Atomic Precision Advanced Manufacturing for Digital Electronics

The ability to place atoms one by one at specific atomic sites was first used to create functioning electronic devices in the late 1990s. Since then, the process known as atomic precision advanced manufacturing (APAM) has been further developed and both academic and commercial interest in its potential has grown. This article describes the nuances of the process, explaining that it places dopants into silicon using surface chemistry, a mechanism not typically used in microfabrication. It also discusses ongoing efforts to develop more complex quantum devices using APAM techniques and outlines the challenges involved in interfacing APAM and CMOS devices on the same die.