“Ancient of Days” from classical art to quantum art
A 500×500 µm photoluminescence image of “Ancient of Days” was created in porous silicon using focused helium beam writing and subsequent electrochemical etching in hydrofluoric acid. Due to quantum confinement effect, visible light emission is observed from the nanosized silicon skeleton left behind after etching. It is found that pre-irradiation with a helium beam is able to change the local resistivity of the silicon and the emission wavelength of the porous silicon formed. The higher the dose of the beam, the redder the photoluminescence wavelength becomes. Here, we see that the figure of the man is depicted in orange and his face and masculinity is highlighted by the black outline created using high dose irradiation. His left hand reaches out for a pair of compass that is rested on a red sphere, surrounded with a yellowish orange aura. Using the high resolution capability of focused ion beam writing, we are able to transform William Blake’s piece of classical art into an image consisting of finely tuned nanocrystals, which we call ‘quantum art’.
Credit: Ee Jin Teo, National University of Singapore, MRS Science As Art Competition
