Nanocones, protagonists

2010/11/02 Aulestiarte Lete, Izaro - Elhuyar Zientziaren Komunikazioa

• Sariak

The spectacular image above has won the first prize in the photo contest organized by Chemical and Engineering News. The spectator may seem at first glance to the marine anemone, but the real protagonist of the image is a set of silicon nanocones, whose height is a few micrometers and its width 1/50,000 of a human hair.

Jennifer Atchison Drexet is a graduate student in Materials Science at the University of Philadelphia. For this he has used a well-known technique in the semiconductor industry, chemical vapor deposition. This technique has allowed the decomposition of silane at high temperatures. With an electronic microscope it has created a colorful image that has just been awarded. Another 250 jobs have competed.

Image courtesy of: Jennifer Atchison.