May 2023
The transition from the colder winter and spring days to the upcoming summer with higher temperatures is in full swing. While people and nature are happily anticipating the warmer days, higher temperatures can also have a detrimental impact on the environment. Especially in the smallest length scales, increased temperatures can have a dramatic effect on the used layers and structures.
The image shows a thin gold film that decomposed at elevated temperatures (but well below the melting temperature) to change the energetically unfavored geometry of a thin layer into single particles or droplets. The bright structures in this SEM image represent the decomposed gold film after heating, which was deposited on a carbon support with regularly arranged holes.
This example shows the beauty of chaos and destructive behavior on the smallest length scales.