Precise atom manipulation through deep reinforcement learning

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how deep reinforcement learning can autonomously control atomic manipulation in scanning tunneling microscopy, achieving precise atomic assembly and advancing nanoscale fabrication.

Contribution

It introduces a DRL-based method for real-world atom manipulation, integrating path planning for autonomous atomic assembly, addressing challenges like unknown parameters and tip changes.

Findings

DRL achieves atomic precision in manipulating Ag adatoms

The system enables autonomous atomic assembly

Enhanced data efficiency with combined RL techniques

Abstract

Atomic-scale manipulation in scanning tunneling microscopy has enabled the creation of quantum states of matter based on artificial structures and extreme miniaturization of computational circuitry based on individual atoms. The ability to autonomously arrange atomic structures with precision will enable the scaling up of nanoscale fabrication and expand the range of artificial structures hosting exotic quantum states. However, the \textit{a priori} unknown manipulation parameters, the possibility of spontaneous tip apex changes, and the difficulty of modeling tip-atom interactions make it challenging to select manipulation parameters that can achieve atomic precision throughout extended operations. Here we use deep reinforcement learning (DRL) to control the real-world atom manipulation process. Several state-of-the-art reinforcement learning techniques are used jointly to boost data efficiency. The reinforcement learning agent learns to manipulate Ag adatoms on Ag(111) surfaces with optimal precision and is integrated with path planning algorithms to complete an autonomous atomic assembly system. The results demonstrate that state-of-the-art deep reinforcement learning can offer effective solutions to real-world challenges in nanofabrication and powerful approaches to increasingly complex scientific experiments at the atomic scale.