Image Of The Week - 09/22/2006



This image shows the details of a silicon "machine" designed for mechanical testing of nano-scale materials. The silicon structure is machined by chemical etching rather than by traditional mechanical machining methods. In this process, the initially-flat silicon is chemically attacked to remove a small amount of material in chosen areas, then the newly etched surface is coated with a thin polymer. This polymer protects the completed areas during the next cycle in which the etchant cuts deeper into the material. This sequence continues until the etching has cut all the way through the silicon, leaving behind the finished part. The etching process leaves a distinctive pattern on the side surfaces of the structure: traces of the individual etching steps only a few tens of nanometers in height.

Image provided by: Paul El-Diery, Joan Stanescu, Svetlana Tatic-Lucic, and Richard Vinci

Copyright © 2006 Paul El-Diery, Joan Stanescu, Svetlana Tatic-Lucic, Richard Vinci, and Lehigh University. This image and information may not be reproduced without the prior consent of this website administrator or the image author.