Here we summarize recent experimental work in the field of atomic origami: the folding of 3D structures from sheets that are just atoms thick. We highlight current techniques for folding at the microscale and provide scaling arguments as to why some approaches work better than others at small sizes. Finally, we point out that for folding structures made from 2D materials, miniaturization can extend another three orders of magnitude: current state of the art devices are microns in size while, as a platform, atomic membranes should be foldable down to the nanoscale. The ability to scale folding structures over a wide range in size could open diverse applications, from microscopic robots to new interfaces with biology.

在这里，我们总结了原子折纸领域的最新实验工作：从仅原子厚的薄片折叠3D结构。我们重点介绍了目前在微尺度下折叠的技术，并提供了缩放比例的论据，以说明为什么某些方法在小尺寸下比其他方法效果更好。最后，我们指出，对于由2D材料制成的折叠结构，微型化可以扩展另外三个数量级：目前最先进的设备尺寸为微米，而作为平台的原子膜应可折叠至纳米级。能够在很大范围内缩放折叠结构的能力可以打开各种应用程序，从微观机器人到新的生物学接口。