Chip containing U.S. and Israeli Declarations of Independence, on Jerusalem stone. (Image via American Technion Society)
The above image displays a chip containing the U.S. and Israeli Declarations of Independence created by a team of scientists at the Technion’s Russel Berrie Nanotechnology Institute (RBNI) in Israel.
On March 20, President Obama will receive a gift from Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu: a nano-sized inscribed replicas of the Declarations of Independence of the U.S. and of the State of Israel to represent the shared values of both countries.
The text was written using a focused ion beam (FIB) generator that can shoot tiny particles called gallium ions onto a gold surface covering a base layer of silicon. The ion beam then etched the surface of the gold layer, making the silicon layer visible.
The image was translated into etching instructions using a program designed specifically for this purpose.
The etched inscriptions cover an area just 0.04 square millimeters and are mounted to a Jerusalem Stone dating back to the first century BCE.
In 2009, RBNI even created a “Nano Bible” for Pope Benedict XVI when he visited Israeli President Shimon Peres.
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