micromachine

noun

mi·cro·ma·chine ˌmī-krō-mə-ˈshēn

: a device or machine constructed on a microscopic scale

The hardest material, and one of the most chemically inert, diamond is extremely difficult to fabricate into electronic devices or micromachines.—

Physics Today

especially : such a device constructed using the techniques of lithography

Unlike the way Swiss watches are made, silicon micromachines are built in one piece and ready to go. Their three-dimensional structures are created by stacking up a series of very thin, carefully detailed layers of silicon, each one deposited directly on the layer before. As a final step, acid etches away the in-between "sacrificial" layers to free the moving parts. —

Doug Stewart

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Self-replicating micromachines (not discussed by Feynman) would unleash the magic of exponential growth, opening a new epoch in engineering. —

Frank Wilczek, WSJ, 25 Apr. 2018