The 41st International Conference on Electron,
Ion and Photon Beam Technology and Nanofabrication

Bizarre/Beautiful Micrograph Contest
 "A good Micrograph is worth more than the MegaByte it consumes."

Results Submitted by John Randall

The fields of research covered by this conference have been at the forefront of the drive to develop technology to make smaller and smaller structures. We have ventured into size regimes where we are often dependent on microscopes and the skill of microscopists to see the results of our work (and often what went wrong). To highlight the importance of micrographs to the field, the conference holds a micrograph contest. The entries were judged both from the technological and artistic standpoint. Six categories were defined:

In addition the judges selected a number of micrographs for Honorable Mention Awards.

The rules included the following:

Over 40 entries were submitted. There were many outstanding micrographs. The work represented in the submitted micrographs covered a wide range of fields including micro mechanical, photonic, and integrated circuit fabrication, chemical and dry etching, field emission tips, UV and x-ray optics, and of course e-beam, ion beam, x-ray, and photo lithography experiments. While the largest number of entries were electron micrographs, the Most Bizarre prize winner was an optical micrograph. The panel of judges who selected the award winners consisted of:

Prof. Kenji Gamo
Director Gamo Lab, Osaka University
Evelyn Hu
Director of Quest, University of California at Santa Barbara.
Alexander Tritchkov
Optics Cluster, Litho Group IMEC, Belgium

Visitor count: : [an error occurred while processing this directive] accesses since June, 1997.

1995 Winners -- 1996 Winners -- 1997 Honorable Mentions

EIPBN MicroGraph Contest Info -- EIPBN Home

Best Electron Micrograph


Title: World's Smallest Non-Functional Guitar

Description: Approximately 7um long guitar with suspended 50nm strings in single crystal silicon. See Cornell Press Release .

Magnification: 16,500X

Instrument: Zeiss Leo DSM 982 Scanning Electron Microscope

Submitted by: Dustin Carr, Cornell University.

Best Ion Micrograph


Title: There's Still Life in GaAs

Description: GaAs crystals growing in grid bar after multiple exposure in MBE growth chamber. Crystals are viewed using secondary electron imaging in 30keV Ga ion microscope.

Magnification (for 4" Height): 1250X

Instrument: Homebuilt in-situ ion beam/ MBE system.

Submitted by: G.A.C. Jones, and P.D. Rose, Cambridge University

Best Photon Micrograph


Title: Beware of the jelly fish!

Description: "Swimming can be dangerous in the developing Pacific around Micronesia." A test structure of crossing lines and spaces e-beam written in 200nm thick AZ4521 resist, suffered from partial loss of adhesion during development. Part of the crossing stayed in place, whereas the lines came loose on one side and followed the running water.

Magnification (for 4" image height): 400X

Instrument: Leitz Ergolux

Submitted by: Dr. F.C.M.J.M. van Delft and Dr.Ir. M.J. Verheijen, Philips Research, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

Best Scanning Probe Micrograph


Title: Pyramid coasting over Pyrex

Description: Self-image of AFM tip of Si3N4 obtained when investigating microstructured Pyrex Glass.

Magnification: 14,000X

Instrument: Nanoscope III, Digital Instruments

Submitted by: J. Gspann and A. Gruber, University Karlsrube, Institute for Microstructure Technology

Most Bizarre Micrograph


Title: The Eyes of Gollum

Description: An optical micrograph taken on a microscope, defocused at a magnification of 1,000Xof two resist bubbles. The resist was subjected to a very aggressive photostabilization UV/BakeŠ process. The bubbles were caused by trapped gases under the resist top skin.

Magnification: 1,000X

Instrument: Leitz Wetzlar, the picture was taken with Polaroid Polapan 400 ISO 400/270 film through an Olympus 095442 mounted camera.

Submitted by: Bobb Mohondro, Fusion Semiconductor Systems

Grand Prize Micrograph


Title: "Nano-Velcro" or "Honey, I think the shag carpet needs vacuuming again."

Description: 0.25um diameter posts etched in GaAs/AlGaAs to form 2-D phtonic Bandgap structure. Something wendt wrong.

Magnification (for 4" Height): 5,000X

Instrument: JEOL JSM 6400 FX Scanning Electron Microscope

Submitted by: Joel Wendt, Sandia Nantional Laboratories

Honorable Mention


Title: "The Horns of a Dilemna - A Fakir's Delight"

Description: An array of sub-10nm radius silicon field emission tips made by a novel high resolution electron beam lithography and plasma dry etch.

Magnification (for 4" image height): 10,000X

Instrument: Hitachi S4000 FE Scanning Electron Microscope

Submitted by: Ezaz Hug and Ron Lawes, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, ENGLAND

Honorable Mention


Title: Shortly Before Sunrise in Photonics County

Description: Materials deposited with e-beam to construct photonic band gap materials and photonic crystals.

Magnification (for 4" image height):

Instrument: JEOL 860F Scanning Electron Microscope

Submitted by: Hans Koops Deutch Telecom AG Darmstadt Germany

Honorable Mention


Title: Broken Sticks

Description: A double angled exposure of a mask grown directly on PMMA was plated up with nickel. I call these guys "Bridges" or "Forks".

Magnification (for 4" image height): 3000X

Instrument: Hitachi SEM

Submitted by: Victor White, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Honorable Mention


Title: Storm in Micropacific: Silicon Waves

Description: Phase-shifting Fresnel zone plate etched in mono-crystal silicon.

Magnification (for 4" image height): 11400X

Instrument: BS-300 Tesla, Scanning Electron Microscope.

Submitted by: Sergey Babin, Etec Systems Inc.

Honorable Mention


Title: Shark Attack

Description: A deep milled Si AFM probe tip, 2000A wide by 10um deep.

Magnification (for 4" image height): 6500X

Instrument: FEI DP 620

Submitted by: G. David Via, USAF Wright Laboratory

Honorable Mention


Title: Pillar Bridges

Description: Supporting Polysilicon layer for tungsten wiring on an image sensor device.

Magnification (for 4" image height):

Instrument: Philips XL-40 FEG Scanning Electron Microscope

Submitted by: Martin Verheijen and Frans Holthuysen, Philips Research Eindhoven

Honorable Mention


Title: Jerusalem of Gold

Description: Nano sculpture of PdAu on GaAs written by e-beam lithogrphy, using a JBX-5FE JEOL.

Magnification (for 4" image height):

Instrument: Topometrix TMX 2010 AFM

Submitted by: Dr. Diana Mahalu and Dr. Sidney Cohen, Weizmann Institue of Science, Rehovot, Israel

Honorable Mention


Title: Amber fields of GaN

Description: Gallium nitride nanostructures fabricated by photoelectrochemical etching.

Magnification (for 4" image height): 15,000X

Instrument: Cambridge 5360 Scanning Electron Microscope

Submitted by: Ilesamni Adesida and Chris Youtsey, University of Illinois

Honorable Mention


Title: Mystery of the Missing Mushroom

Description: In the process of etching an array of inverted pyramids in silicon, aggitation was found to be necessary. An anisotropic KOH solution was used which has a gaseous etch product. This gas comes off the silicon in bubbles which can protect the silicon from further etching unless the sample is aggitated and the bubbles come off the silicon surface.

Magnification (for 4" image height): 100,000X

Instrument: LEO 982 Scanning Electorn Microscope

Submitted by: Andrea Franke, MIT

Honorable Mention


Title: How we get those skinny lines to stand up.

Description: Joe Langston and co-worker found that personal intervention was the only solution to the collapse of high aspect ratio resist structures.

Magnification (for 4" image height):

Instrument: Scanning Electron Microscope

Submitted by: John Bjorkholm and Joe Langston INTEL

NOTE: This micrograph is clearly in violation of the rules (multiple images) and was not eligible for an official award. However, the judges loved it and it was awarded this honorlable mention.

1996 Micrograph Contest Winners
1998 Micrograph Contest Winners

Back to Home EIPBN MicroGraph Contest
Back to EIPBN Home Page