Researchers unveil AI-powered atomic fabrication technique

Singapore, March 18: Researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have pioneered a groundbreaking method for crafting carbon-based quantum materials atom by atom, leveraging scanning probe microscopy and advanced deep neural networks.
This innovative approach showcases the prowess of artificial intelligence (AI) in manipulating materials at the sub-angstrom scale, offering immense potential for scientific exploration and future applications.
The team, led by Associate Professors Lu Jiong and Zhang Chun, devised the chemist-intuited atomic robotic probe (CARP) concept, integrating probe chemistry expertise with AI to fabricate and characterise open-shell magnetic nanographenes at the single-molecule level.
This enables precise engineering of their electronic and spin configurations in an automated manner, akin to human chemists.
The framework efficiently translates expert knowledge into machine-executable tasks, offering insights crucial for understanding intricate reaction mechanisms.
The team envisions expanding CARP's capabilities to encompass diverse on-surface probe chemistry reactions with scalability and efficiency, potentially revolutionising conventional synthesis processes for practical applications.
This paradigm shift could accelerate fundamental research on quantum materials, paving the way for intelligent atomic fabrication and ushering in a new era of materials science.
Source: Times of Oman