Image: Adrian Laroche
The little compartments here are the isolation walls that separate the active devices in this silicon die. The image reminded the photographer of the song “Little Boxes,” by Malvina Reynolds.
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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