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Article: Lab Creates Diamond Micromachines.
- Article from:
- Assembly
- Article date:
- May 1, 2000
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 BNP Media. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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ALBUQUERQUE, NM--They're much too small to be a girl's best friend, but the world's first diamond micromachines could revolutionize a technology that's already revolutionary.
Created at Sandia National Laboratories, the machines were etched from a surface of amorphous diamond in a manner similar to that used to make integrated circuits and microelectromechanical systems (MEMs) from silicon.
Silicon MEMs are already used in a variety of applications, ranging from automotive air bags to optical micromirrors for satellites. Researchers are interested in making MEMs from diamond because of its superior wear resistance and its resistance to ...