## 5 Advanced Setups
### Setups with Robotic Automation  
The study by [PERSON] and colleagues [85] details the development of an autonomous robotic system for the efficient fabrication of van der Waals (vdW) superlattices from two-dimensional (2D) crystals. This system addresses the challenges posed by the manual processes traditionally used for locating and assembling 2D materials. The robotic system (Figure 10) operates within a glovebox to maintain an inert atmosphere. It autonomously detects up to 400 monolayer graphene flakes per hour with a minimal error rate and assembles up to four cycles of 2D crystal stacks per hour, requiring only minimal human intervention. The innovative image processing pipeline and computer-vision algorithms enable the system to distinguish 2D crystals from contaminants accurately. The design of the system includes an automated optical microscope and a stamping apparatus, which together facilitate the high-precision assembly of vdW heterostructures. This technology significantly reduces the time and labor involved in fabricating complex heterostructures, exemplified by the successful construction of a 29-layer graphene and hexagonal boron nitride superlattice. This scalable approach opens new possibilities for prototyping a wide variety of vdW superlattices, advancing both fundamental research and practical applications in nanomaterial science. Figure 9: Cost-effective “cleanroom in a glovebox” system as proposed by [PERSON] et al. [87]. The setup includes the following components: 1. Glovebox; 2. VdW assembly and lithography station; 3. Small glovebox; 4. Small load lock; 5. Computer; 6. Screen; 7. External control unit; 8. Transfer mechanism to cryostat; 9. Vacuum chamber. Reproduced from [87] under the Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license. Figure 10: _Cont._  
In their groundbreaking work published in Nature Nanotechnology, [PERSON] et al. [88] present a revolutionary method for the high-throughput, precise assembly of van der Waals (vdW) solids using a robotic four-dimensional (4D) pixel assembly technique. This innovative approach overcomes the limitations of traditional micromechanical exfoliation methods, which are not scalable for rapid manufacturing. The team developed a robotic system (Figure 11) capable of assembling prepatterned pixels of atomically thin two-dimensional materials into vdW solids with unprecedented speed, precision, and scale. The method involves wafer-scale growth of two-dimensional material films, clean contact-free patterning, and robotic assembly under high vacuum, enabling the fabrication of vdW solids with up to 80 individual layers and controlled interlayer angles. This technology facilitates efficient optical spectroscopic assays, revealing new excitonic and absorbance layer dependencies in materials such as MoS\({}_{2}\). Additionally, the assembly of twisted multilayer structures, like a four-layer WS\({}_{2}\) with precise interlayer rotations, demonstrated atomic reconstruction at high twist angles. This robotic 4D pixel assembly method represents a significant advancement in the scalable manufacturing of designer quantum materials, potentially unlocking new possibilities in advanced electronic technologies and the exploration of novel physical phenomena. The Vacuum Assembly Robot (VAR), as depicted in Figure 12, is a critical component of the four-dimensional pixel assembly process [88]. The VAR is housed in a desktop-size high-vacuum chamber to minimize surface contamination and prevent material oxidation during the assembly of vdW heterostructures. It features a heated x-y translation stage that holds multiple chips of source material or receiving substrates, and a separate z-0 actuated stacking platform for precise layer manipulation. The assembly process involves a micro-structured polymer stamp designed for optimal mechanical properties and thermally switched adhesion. This stamp picks up and deposits layers with high spatial and angular resolution, ensuring accurate layer-by-layer construction.