Nanoscale Crop Circles (IMAGE)

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Nanoscale Crop Circles — Caption

When a thin layer of gold anneals on top of a silicon wafer coated with native silicon dioxide, randomly distributed pools of eutectic alloy quickly form -- and then go through a rapid series of strange changes, leaving behind bare silicon-dioxide circles surrounded by debris. Each denuded circle reveals a perfect square at its center. The area shown is about 107 by 155 micrometers (millionths of a meter).

Credit

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Usage Restrictions

None

License

Licensed content

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.