2025, October
VO₂ Stonehenge Squares
Ehsan Ansari, Nanolab
Legend says it wasn’t druids, but patient Ph.D. students who aligned these mysterious nano-stones. Each “stone” is a tiny VO₂ grain, standing in a perfect grid to honor the phase-transition god.
Ge spiderweb
Ludovica Lunghi, LMSC
Around Halloween also the growth of Ge nanowires became spooky to remind us that sometimes from “horror experiments” we can get interesting images. In this case an SOI wafer has been patterned through ebeam lithography, then SiO2 oxide was deposited on top of that and patterned as well. Finally the Si was etched by TMAH etching to leave only a small seed inside the SiO2 hollows from which Ge precursors can nucleate.
LavaGaN Stripes
Francesco Marcantoni, POWERLAB
Un-optimized dry etching of a GaN substrate using a photoresist mask.
Praise the Monolith
Luciano Calcoen, MT-MA3
On one of CMi’s optical microscopes in DF mode, the light was scattered on a corner and gave a pretty shade of color on our microfluidic channel as if it was taken straight from “2001: A space Odyssey”.
Spring on a wafer
Zihan Li, LPQM
Silicon dioxide sprouts from the silicon soil, even if winter is coming. After depositing 1 µm of SiO₂ using PECVD Corial, silicon dioxide buds—about 50 nm wide but 400 nm high—emerge from the substrate instead of forming a continuous film.
2025, September
What happens when you forget to turn off SEM mode
Nikita Glebov, BIOS
After troubleshooting on the EBPG5200 Plus system, we forgot to turn off SEM mode before the stage moved, as a result, the machine began drawing on its own. The result resembles a structure floating in space. SEM mode was eventually turned off, but unfortunately it was too late to prevent the error in one part of the structure.
Dune of Arrakis
Maria Chani Mihaescu, LMGN
The structure is part of chiral screw written with two photon lithography and covered with Nickel ALD.
Rest in peace little Josephson junction!
Damien Jaccoud, LPQM
Once, Jeddy, a Josephson junction, was filled with glorious hopes: being the best of all. But its dreams were wiped out when the resist rebelled and refused to leave the territory of Deposition. The fight was hard and intense, Aluminum against MMA/PMMA. Unfortunately, Jeddy could not bridge its strengths and was overwhelmed, leaving ruins behind it. Let’s all remember the tragic story of Jeddy the Josephson junction, which felt down after underdevelopment!
2025, August
A beehive… at the nanoscale
Melania Coronese, NEMS
What looks like a piece of digital art is actually a silicon oxide-nitride membrane seen under the scanning electron microscope. With its perfect hexagonal pattern, it resembles a tiny beehive, a delicate and fascinating structure hidden inside a MEMS chip.
Silicon Stargate
Nikita Glebov, BIOS
In the vast universe of science, the stargates were discovered — woven from delicate silicon membranes. Their oval openings seemed like portals to other realms, where matter and light entwine in a timeless dance. Thus, ordinary silicon became the guardian of hidden worlds.
The unwanted snowfall
Saba Gholizadeh, NEMS
The unwanted snowfall: these are delicate silica particles which are CMP slurry residues dried on the wafer. We wish them gone, but those that survive and find each other, reveal a quiet beauty which is enough to bring a little smile.
2025, July
A Micro-Scale Illusion
Wenhong Yang, BIOS
Using the magic of DUV lithography, this illusion was constructed at CMi. Warning: Stare too long, and you just might get lost… or hypnotized! This image was captured using a Zeiss SEM Crossbeam.
Microscopic Constellation
Sönke Menke, LMIS1
Red planets drift through a tangled galaxy: an entire universe hidden from the naked eye, but rich in mystery and wonder. The planets are made of stainless steel, and the galaxy of polymer.
The micro Nishinoshima Island
Mustafa Yücel, LEAP
This appears to be a Cr particle on my sample after being ecthed with the IBE at 45 deg that looks like an island with a volcano.
Nano Spinal Cord
Deeksha Gupta, QNET, University of Geneva
“This is not an average bone—it’s a nano spinal bone crafted from lithium niobate, perfect for ultra-tiny skeletons”. The fabrication was performed using e-beam lithography at CMI.
2025, June
The Curse of the Black SQUID
Andrea Duina, SQIL
Rising from the silicon depths, an ancient circuit, two junctions bound in a square, carries the haunting beauty of lost quantum treasure. A superconducting legend, etched in time.
2025, May
Micro Alpes
Jongeon Park, LMIS1
Micro Alpes were discovered in micro scale. The mountains are composed with polyvinyl alcohol shell with the lipid core inside. These unique geological microfeatures are formed by the combination of Nanoscribe and molding techniques.
Wrapping up
Aude Chigard, HQC
A failed attempt at a metal lift-off release.
Lightning in the microscape
Matteo Cirillo, LBNI
In this microscopic scene the night sky splits open with a storm of fractal lighting over the horizon. Captured through dark field microscopy, this spectacle is the aftermath of a polymer-based thin film delaminating from a wafer substrate. The jagged streaks left behind like the scorch marks of tiny thunderbolts look like a silent, microscopic tempest, frozen in time.
Tiger skin
Matteo Gambato Guidastri, NEMS
Treating a Pt electrode at a too high temperature made the wafer unusable, but generated a lot of mesmerizing defects, such as this animaleux print.
Nanogolf
Daniil Riabov, BIOS
They say if you are bad at golf, practice more. I say if you are bad at golf, just add more holes! Yet some of my Au nanoparticle balls missed the target. The design of this beautiful silicon lawn was sketched with DUV stepper and the holes were dug up with Alcatel AMS200 etcher. The broadcast of the tournament was carried out by SEM Crossbeam.
2025, April
Sandworm
Matthieu Duret, CORINTIS SA
A new strange yet fascinating creature has been added to the CMi bestiary: this SEM picture revealed its mouth, peaking from the surface finish of a contact pad. It probably took advantage of a small photoresist residue or some other impurities that was left underneath, inducing this strange growth of the pad finish. It oddly looks like the sandworm from Star Wars, one could have expected to see it in a warmer region than Switzerland, but after all, sand is mainly composed of SiO2, so it is not that surprising to see that it found shelter in CMi.
Anatomy of a Stretchable Neural Interface
Laurine Kolly, LSBI
These periodic meandering structures are engineered to seamlessly interface with soft neural tissue. Composed of thin-film platinum encapsulated in polyimide, the design combines electrical conduction and insulation at the microscale – a duet of metal and polymer ready to capture the brain’s electrical symphony.
Let’s build (micro-) bridges
Sönke Menke, LMIS1
In times like these, building bridges instead of destroying them is more important than ever. While I cannot do much on a global scale, I am at least able to build micro-bridges out of suspended polymer fibers. This bridge was 3D printed using custom nozzles made in CMi prior to imaging with the SEM.
Eyes of the Microcosm
Chenxiang Zhang, LMIS1
Under the lens of a dark-field microscope, a mesmerizing array of luminous orbs emerges—each resembling a watchful eye suspended within the delicate matrix of a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) film. These micro-bubbles, entrapped during the sputtering of silicon dioxide (SiO₂), evoke the appearance of countless eyes gazing out from the microscopic landscape. Their radiant halos against the dark backdrop create an illusion of a starry night sky filled with vigilant sentinels. This image not only captures a moment in materials science but also invites viewers to ponder the hidden worlds that lie beyond our ordinary perception. Taken by optical microscope in Zone 11 with dark-field mode.
Banana and coconut nano-toast
Diana Dall’Aglio, LNET
While looking at some over-etched silicon nanopillars, we suddenly found ourselves inexplicably craving a sweet snack.
2025, March
Oasis
Hongkeng Zhu, POWERlab
After a transistor breakdown test, metal fragments were exploded onto the nearby GaN mesa, forming a tree-like structure along the mesa’s edge just like in an oasis. Life can still find a way to blossom even in devastation. A tribute to the recently departed musician Khalil Fong.
Nano-pool
Ludovica Lunghi, LMSC
A pattern for planar nanowires growth has been developed after ebeam exposure on a Si substrate. However, the Ge that has been grown by MOVPE refused to settle down in nanowires and decided instead to create a nano-swimming pool for Ge particles.
Geometric Echoes
Mustafa Yücel, LEAP
Known for his use of simple geometric forms, Auguste Herbin’s artwork often features bold, abstract compositions built from triangles, rectangles, and circles. This SEM image bears a strong resemblance to his style, with its prominent triangular structures evoking the clean, geometric language of Herbin’s pieces.
The Fortifications of Al
Senlu Zhou, LWE
On the tungsten battlefield, the Al fortifications stood tall, shielding the surface below. As the plasma storm raged, the soldiers – tiny yet resilient – held their ground. Their sacrifice etched forever in nanoscale history.
2025, February
“Cracking” the code behind nano-destruction
Diana Dall’Aglio, Elif Nur Dayi, LNET
EBL silicon nanopillars were so severely over-dosed that they collapsed, forming weird shapes. We had fun then trying to find hidden patterns and words among those shapes, feeling a bit like kids with their alphabet pasta soup. Sometimes a mistake like the over-exposure of some silicon nanopillars can lead to the discovery of a secret (or promotional?) message.
Quantum Boulevard
Xuxin Wang, Jiaheng Wang, Shingo Kono, LPQM
This SEM image captures a tilted top view of a phononic crystal patterned by Electron beam lithography on an Aluminum thin film on top of a Silicon substrate. The phononic crystal structure is realized by periodically arranged round holes in a hexagonal lattice, which is similar as a boulevard cutting through a forest.
Polysilicon mille-feuille
Melania Coronese, NEMS
This SEM image captures the delicate edge of a polysilicon cantilever revealing an interesting similarity to a fine mille-feuille pastry. The stratified structure, which comes from a Bosch process, looks almost as if it has been created by a microscopic pastry chef. Peeling of Parylene at the edges adds an extra touch of imperfection, much like the crisp, flaky layers of a well-baked dessert. The roughness of the polysilicon instead makes the surface look as if it’s lightly covered in powdered sugar. At this scale, the world of microfabrication and fine patisserie seem to merge into one!
The Micro Coral Reef of Lausanne
Sönke Menke, LMIS1
During inspection of my Si-wafer in the cold dark morning, I stumbled upon this section. It immediately reminded me of a coral reef and brought me to think about summer vacation. Visible is a Si-wafer after bosch-process etching.
2025, January
Creamy puffs for Christmas celebration!
Shima Rezaee Fakhr, Nanolab
Nano pastry’s chef has prepared these creamy puffs for Christmas in E-beam machine, cooked them in Evaporation machine and then took a photo with SEM camera to share with others 🙂
The golden train has arrived!
Mohammad Rezaei, POWERlab
Get shrunk and get in, everyone is welcome. Although the terrain is non-conductive, but don’t worry, the driver will conduct well the train; even on slopes as high as 75 degrees (45+30).
Groot in a tree!
Reuben Puddy, Oxford Ionics
I spotted Groot in a tree! I had no idea he was so tiny. I contacted the Marvel syndicate and yes, they confirmed that Groot was indeed missing. They offered a hefty reward for his return as well!! Unfortunately, he saw me and scuttled off, so I won’t be claiming their Marvelous reward. I swear I saw him mouthing “no paparazzi”. He needs some time out of the limelight it seems.
Nano-Pyramid City
Mahmoud Abouelatta, LEAP
A city of flipped pyramids is being built on silicon by an Egyptian at CMi . Ancient Egyptians used to build pyramids only for the Pharaohs, but now, we could have pyramids for everyone.
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