Nanolympics | MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology

Discover the best moments of the olympics on a nanoscale

Replicating an elite athlete's performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics on a nanoscale? It can be done at the University of Twente's NanoLab!

A group of enthusiastic PhD students from MESA+ will replicate the most beautiful finish images of Dutch top athletes on the nanoscale during the Olympic Games - under the name Nanolympics.

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REMCO EVENEPOEL - Time trial

Remco Evenepoel - Time trial | 27 July 2024, Olympics, Paris 2024

Keet Oldenbeuving - skateboarding

Keet Oldenbeuving - skateboarding | 27 July 2024, Olympics, Paris 2024

Epke Zonderland - 'Hij staat'

Top performance on the nanoscale

In these stop-motion videos, you see a fragment of the Olympics divided into about one hundred frames. These hundred frames are not normal pictures, but have been ‘printed’ on a 5 by 5 millimetre chip thanks to nanotechnology. So, the athlete in the video is a lot smaller than in real life: a whopping 100 micrometres in size. That's as small as the thickness of your hair or a sheet of paper!

How does it work?

After an elite athlete crosses the finish line, the video of the athlete at the finish line is cut out using software and converted into images made up of pixels measuring 300 by 300 nanometres. These images are then actually created on a chip in a lab.

Step 1. The image of the top athlete

We first coat a chip with a layer sensitive to electron exposure (a). Each frame is ‘drawn’ by electron beam lithography, a process where an electron beam patterns the design into this sensitive layer (b). This can be compared to the ‘stippling’ technique used on a colouring page, but with a significant difference: the electron beam can create incredibly small dots, allowing for the creation of extremely detailed and intricate structures. A layer of metal, approximately 60 nanometres thick, is then applied to the plate (d). The electron-sensitive layer is then washed away, taking with it the metals that were on top of it (e). What remains is the metal where the structures are written, forming the image of the top athlete (f).

Step 2. Placing the chips

In this video, you can see how we place the chips (5 x 5 mm in size) on the holder of a sputtering machine. The chips, made of silicon, are also used as the foundation of computer chips and are a key component of ordinary sand. In the sputtering machine, we can deposit metal layers on these chips. You can see more of this process in the following videos.

Step 3. Loading the holder

After we place the chips on the holder, this holder is loaded into the system. All processes work under vacuum, so all air is pumped out of the chamber after the lid closes. Then, the sample is transported from the Load Lock to the deposition chamber.

Step 4. Sputter process

Here, we look through a small window into the sputtering chamber. Sputtering, the process of depositing metal layers, works by ionising argon gas, which is then accelerated towards a plate of material you want to deposit on your chip. The argon ions bombard the plate, thereby releasing material of it. This material then flies towards your chip, forming a layer. The ionised argon itself emits light, creating the purple and blue colours.

Step 5. Placing chips on SEM holder

In this video, we place two of our chips on a holder so that we can then load them into the electron microscope. The chips are attached to a special type of conductive tape (carbon tape) so that the electrons used for ‘illumination’ can also be discharged. We always press the chips down a bit to make sure they stay securely in the system.

Step 6. Loading the sample holder

Now that the samples are on the holder, this holder can be placed in the system. The holder is placed in the loadlock, which we then pump down. When the pressure in the loadlock is low enough, the sample can be moved to the observation chamber, where we can then take the images.

The image of the top athlete on the plate then goes under an electron microscope. With this microscope, you don't use a light source and your eyes, but again use electrons to ‘see’. With this microscope, we can zoom in further on the images and get a good look at our athletes. A picture is taken of each picture. If you then put everything together, it creates a stop-motion video from the original video clip of the Olympic Games. But on a microscopic scale!

Keep an eye on this page and the Nanolympics social media channels for all the coming videos!

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Want to know more?

ir. F.J. Witmans (Femke)

PhD Candidate

+31534898467

f.j.witmans@utwente.nl

Building: Carré C1161