CNM Researchers Win Micrograph Contest

The 52nd International Conference on Electron, Ion and Photon Beam Technology and Nanofabrication (EIPBN), held in Portland, Oregon, in May 2008, sponsored a micrograph contest. An image supplied by Leo Ocola and Ralu Divan won the category of “Best Photon Micrograph” with an optical micrograph of the first imprint from the CNM’s Nanofabrication Cleanroom Facility made with their new step-and-repeat Nanonex NX-3000 Nanoimprinting tool.

The radial array was used for a silicon crystal anisotropic wet etching study. For micromachining applications that employ silicon as the material, it is very useful to know the etching rate in all directions in order to be able to "build" different shapes. With a radial mask, one is able to estimate the etching rate of all crystallographic directions. Upon aligning a design with a specific direction, one can then etch pyramids, cubes, V-shaped grooves, and U-shaped grooves. The researchers used potassium hydroxide base as the etching solution at high speeds.

June 2008