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MNE 2011 Micro Nano Graph Contest

“ A good Micrograph is worth more than the MegaByte it consumes.”Entries Presented by Dr. John Randall – Zyvex Labs

The rules include the following:
• Entries have to be of a single image taken with a microscope and not significantly altered.
• There is no restriction with respect to the subject matter.
• Electron and ion micrographs have to be black and white.

In 2011, 41 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,  laser optics, carbon nanotube structures,  carbon nanotube growth experiments,  biological samples, material science experiments and, of course, e-beam, ion beam, and nano imprint lithography experiments.

The panel of judges who selected the award winners were:

  • David Ricketts – CMU
    • Jens Gobrecht – PSI
    • Alex Liddle – NIST
    • Michelle Simmons – UNSW

The Awards are:
First Prize
Second Prize
Third Prize
The judges also selected 6 Honorable Mentions.

All 2011 Entries (with original titles)

Judges exercised their prerogative to change the micrograph titles if it pleased them.


       First Prize

Title: “µ-Cocktail Glass Set for the Winners” (Ancient Design)

Description:
The patterns are fabricated in Silicon by two step self-aligned DRIE process with different etch depths using only one lithography step. A thin thermal oxide layer grown after the 1st (deeper) etch step allows the high selectivity between two etchings (“glass” thickness ~50-80 nm). The outer decoration effect results from the sidewall passivation.

Magnification (3″x4″ image): 2k X
Instrument: FEI XL30-ESEM FEG
Submitted by: Pavlina Choleva, Stefan Partel, Peter Hudek
Affiliation: Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences. Dornbirn Austria.


       Second Prize

Title: “Did You Leave the Cooker on?”

Description:
Spirals patterned in a SOI wafer gets out for unknown reason. Be careful! Don’t look too close at the hypnotic spirals.

Magnification (3″x4″ image): 1.3k X
Instrument: SEM Hitachi S-4800
Submitted by: Seichepine Florent
Affiliation: CNRS LAAS


       Third Prize

Title: “Polar Bear surfacing in a Hole in the Ice”

Description:
LZT dry and wet-chemically etched.

Magnification (3″x4″ image): 11000 X
Instrument: XL40 FEG-SEM (Philips/FEI)
Submitted by: Harry van Esch, Falco van Delft
Affiliation: Philips Innovation Services, Eindhoven


       Honorable Mention

Title: “Escher”

Description:
PMMA resist patterned by a combination of grayscale electron beam lithography and thermal post-processing.

Magnification (3″x4″ image): 5 KX
Instrument: Carl Zeiss, Supra 55VP
Submitted by: Arne Schleunitz
Affiliation: Paul Scherrer Institut Villigen, Switzerland


       Honorable Mention

Title: “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”

Description:
The whole lifetime of a flower in one snap-shot. From the roots to the infinity…

Nanoimprinting defects of a low surface energy UV-NIL resist prototype at the periphery of the coating on a Silicon wafer.
Magnification (3″x4″ image): 2.5 X
Instrument: Olympus BX51M
Submitted by: Hakan Atasoy
Affiliation: Micro Resist Technology GmbH. Berlin, Germany.


       Honorable Mention

Title: Smurf Forest

Description:
Nano Kaltalpa Trees. This is the coolest MicroGraph ever!!

Magnification (3″x4″ image): 50KX
Instrument: FEI NovaNano SEM600
Submitted by: Frans Holthuysen
Affiliation: Philips Research Europe High Tech Campus. The Netherlands.


       Honorable Mention

Title: Ribbitt!

Description:
Hillock formed during PECVD Si3N4 deposition at 300oC on Ti/Al.

Magnification (3″x4″ image): 65000X
Instrument: XL40 FEG-SEM (Philips/FEI)
Submitted by: Harry van Esch, Falco van Delft
Affiliation: Philips Innovation Services, Eindhoven


       Honorable Mention

Title: Fight

Description:
A honeycomb microlens array formed by UV-polymerization of a negative resist. The polymerization is a free radical process and the both, the O2 and the pre-polymer fight to catch the radicals.

Magnification (3″x4″ image): 1.76 KX
Instrument: Zeiss FESEM UltraPlus
Submitted by: Manuel Gomez
Affiliation: CIQUS, Santiago de Compostela University. Santiago de Compostela, Spain.


       Honorable Mention

Title: What you see is just in your mind…

Description:
Stress in an overplated Fresnel zone plate made of Au caused it to bow and delaminate from the substrate.

Magnification (3″x4″ image): 10 KX
Instrument: Carl Zeiss, Supra 55VP
Submitted by:Arne Schleunitz
Affiliation: Paul Scherrer Institute. Villigen, Switzerland.