Noise-free labs, IBM research. Nanotechnology equipment in one of the 'noise-free' laboratories at the Binnig and Rohrer Nanotechnology Center at IBM Research-Zurich, Switzerland. Acoustic dampening panels line the laboratory walls and the equipment is mounted on precision-engineered vibration isolation blocks. The 'noise-free' laboratories, constructed in 2011, are shielded against external and internal vibrations, acoustic noise, electromagnetic fields and temperature fluctuations. They will provide an ideal research environment for nanometre-scale research over the next 20 to 30 years. Photographed in August 2013.