Experiments tend to be rather boring when they work precisely as expected. Mistakes and failure, though, are typically nothing short of spectacular. This page celebrates art generated in the pursuit of science — inadvertent masterpieces sculpted by unintentional forces.
Microarchipelago (2016)
I was producing miniature optical components by sculpting very thin films. These films love to detach themselves from surfaces, so in this experiment I was investigating if an adhesive layer would help to hold them down. This process involved a heating step, and to avoid destructive surface tension effects one first had to dry the sample. I forgot to perform this step and watched in horror as my perfect sample tore itself apart on the hotplate. While taking pictures of the sample under the microscope, I was struck by the beautiful iridescent patterns and agglomerates formed. It was reminiscent of a false-color topographic map of island groups, but these colors were real and breath-taking! I kept this image to remind myself that often failure in one domain can reveal insight or beauty in another. Source: Daniel Lim (as published in the Caltech Magazine). Medium: Reflected light microscope, Caltech Troian group.
Gateway to Mordor (2020)
Tall gray pillars line an ominous boulevard. The sharp surface relief was created by deep reactive ion etching of silicon during nanofabrication optimization of the holey metalens back etch. Source: Daniel Lim and Maryna Meretska. Alternate version colored by Joon-Suh Park. Medium: Scanning Electron Microscope (FEI Helios), Harvard Center for Nanoscale Systems.
Alien Freckles (2020)
Trypophobic bumps engulf an array of deep pits, conjuring an uncomfortable alien landscape. This freckled surface was captured during a silicon etch test for the holey metalens nanofabrication. Source: Daniel Lim and Maryna Meretska. Medium: Scanning Electron Microscope (FEI Helios), Harvard Center for Nanoscale Systems.
Jellied Silicon (2021)
Scaly tentacles dangle playfully from a blocky jellyfish head. This cross-sectional profile, captured during holey metalens nanofabrication process optimization, demonstrates the destabilizing effect of overetching when making deep holes in silicon. The block on top is made of platinum, which helps protect the underlying patterns while making cross-sectional ion beam cuts. Source: Daniel Lim and Maryna Meretska. Medium: Scanning Electron Microscope (FEI Helios), Harvard Center for Nanoscale Systems.
