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The 49th 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 Dr. 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:

Best Electron Micrograph
Best Ion Micrograph
Best Scanning Probe Micrograph
M.C. Escher Award
Most Bizarre
Grand Prize
Honorable Mention Queen’s Award
Honorable Mention
Honorable Mention
Honorable Mention

The rules included the following:

• Entries had to be of a single image taken with a microscope and may not be significantly altered.
• There was no restriction with respect to the subject matter.
• Electron and ion micrographs had to be black and white.

In 2005, 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, x-ray, and photo lithography experiments.

The panel of judges who selected the award winners consisted of:

Mrs. Nicki Marrian
Dr. Stella Pang
Mrs. Jamie Schattenburg

Best Electron MicroGraph

05electron

TITLE: Creating Atom
Description: The guiding hand was grown by 5kV EBID using W(CO)6 precursor.
Magnification: 50,970X
Instrument: LEO Gemini 1550 VP SEM
Submitted by: Mihail Croitoru (Tübingen University)

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Best Ion MicroGraph

05ion

TITLE: Artificial Nano “T4 Bacteriophage”
Description: “T4 Bacteriophage” is a virus like the robot in the living body.
Artificial nano “T4 Bacteriophage” was fabricated by FIB-CVD on Si surface.
Size of the artificial nano “T4 Bacteriophage” is about ten times as large as the real virus.
It is made of Diamond-like Carbon. It is likely to begin to walk in the nano space!!
Magnification: 25,000X
Instrument: SII NanoTechnology Inc. / SMI2050MS2
Submitted by: Reo Kometani & Shinji Matsui (University of Hyogo)

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Best Scanning Probe MicroGraph
05scanning
TITLE: World’s Smallest Maze
Description: First and second layer C60 island growth at the edge of atomic terraces on KBr.
Magnification: (3″x4″ image):  125,000X
Instrument: JEOL 4500 AFM
Submitted by: Shawn Fostner (McGill University)
M. C. Escher Award
05escher
TITLE: Reflecting Escher
Description: Electron mirror formed by a point charge created by electron irradiated metallic dots on a MgO substrate. The dots were charged by viewing at 15keV at high mag, then viewed at low mag at 2keV. The image shows the reflection of the interior of the SEM sample chamber.
Magnification:  25X
Instrument: JEOL JSM6301F
Submitted by: Bengt Nilsson (MC2 Process Lab, Chalmers Univ. of Tech)

Most Bizarre

05bizarre
TITLE: Chisai Benjo
Description: An effective method of dealing with defects is to find a collection site.
Magnification: ~15,000X
Instrument: SII NanoTechnology Inc. / SMI2050MS2
Submitted by: Takahashi Kaito (SII Nanotechnology Inc.)

Grand Prize MicroGraph

05grand
TITLE: Pico Predator
Description: RF-MEMS structure consisting of a stack of 5 µm Al + 50 nm TiW + 200 nm PECVD SiO2.
Magnification:   340X
Instrument: FEI NovaNanoSEM600
Submitted by: Frans Holthuysen (Philips Research)

Honorable Mention Queen’s Award

05honmen
TITLE: NanoChess
Description: Our nano manipulators Kasparov and Karpov are desperately waiting for the kings…
Magnification (3″x4″ image):   17,000x
Instrument: Raith e_LiNE
Submitted by: Raith (A. Linden, S. Bauerdick)

Honorable Mention

05honmen2
TITLE: Tower of Babylon
Description: Interior of a shell
Magnification (3″x4″ image):   60x
Instrument: FEI NovaNanoSEM600
Submitted by: Frans Holthuysen (Philips Research)
Honorable Mention
05honmen3
TITLE: “If I had a nanohammer….”
Description: Deep etching gone wrong…
Magnification:  150,000 X
Instrument: Hitachi 7840 CD-SEM
Submitted by: Mike Fritze (MIT Lincoln Labs)
Honorable Mention
05honmen4
TITLE: Spider’s website
Description: RF-MEMS structure consisting of a stack of 5 µm Al + 50 nm TiW + 200 nm PECVD SiO2.
Magnification:   240x
Instrument: FEI NovaNanoSEM600
Submitted by: Frans Holthuysen (Philips Research)