Smallest Starship Enterprise sculpture

The 47th International Conference on Electron, Ion and Photon Beam Technology and Nanofabrication Bizarre/Beautiful Micrograph Contest was held in the USA in 2003. Winning the prize of "Best Ion Micrograph" was the aptly named "Nano Trek" sculpture of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D, which measured just 8.8 microns (0.0003 inches) in length. This 1-billionth-scale model was created by Takayuki Hoshino and Shinji Matsui of the Himeji Institute of Technology in Japan. They used a 30kV Focused Ion Beam to etch the replica of the iconic Star Trek ship.

From the website of The 47th International Conference on Electron, Ion and Photon Beam Technology and Nanofabrication Bizarre/Beautiful Micrograph Contest: "The fields of research covered by this conference have been at the forefront of the drive to develop technology to make smaller and smaller structures. We have ventured into size regimes where we are often dependent on microscopes and the skill of microscopists to see the results of our work (and often what went wrong). To highlight the importance of micrographs to the field, the conference holds a micrograph contest. The entries were judged both from the technological and artistic standpoint. Six categories were defined:

• Best Electron Micrograph
• Best Ion Micrograph
• Best Optical Micrograph
• Best Picasso Prize
• Most Bizarre
• Grand Prize"