Image: Huan Gim Chan
This growth, which the photographer thought looked like a “pretty dangerous cactus,” is the sulfide corrosion of an exposed copper trace. The chip it came from had been hanging out in a sulfur-rich environment.
Sometimes art is accidental. At IEEE's 18th International Symposium on the Physical and Failure Analysis of Integrated Circuits, held 4 to 7 July in Incheon, South Korea, participants submitted pictures of surreal and spectacular close-ups of microchips, competing for the most affecting image. This is the fourth year IEEE Spectrum has featured the finalists from IPFA's "Art of Failure Analysis" contest. Click on the links for winners from 2010, 2009, and 2008.
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