Manufacturing layers of materials a few nanometers wide, such as those used in semiconductors and nanoparticles, is challenging but feasible with current technology. Key techniques include atomic layer deposition (ALD) for creating thin insulating films and electron beam lithography for patterning these films into narrow strips. Applications such as metal-insulator-metal (MIM) diodes highlight the utility of these nanostructures. The precision required for controlling thickness at the atomic level remains a significant hurdle in this field.
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Such materials as metals and metals' oxidesberkeman said:Can you say more about your question? What kind of material? Silicon?
A few nanometres would be something like a dozen atoms thick.DyerMaker said:How hard and costy is it to manufacture a layer of substance a few nanometers wide and how useful such structures would be?
DaveE said:Does Graphene count? It's not a metal, but it conducts electricity and heat as well as metals. There are lots of YouTube videos about making it, like this one:
I have in mind, first of all, such application as MIM diodes.berkeman said:You mean like nanoparticles?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanoparticle
Well, semiconductors currently have nanometer-size features, and are pretty important (obviously).
Nanoparticles have some interesting applications...
What applications do you have in mind?
What reading have you been doing about MIM diodes? Has there been recent research and development into them since the initial work a few decades ago?DyerMaker said:I have in mind, first of all, such application as MIM diodes.