With a scale of 1 trillonth, a map of the world was etched on to a corner of an optical silicon chip by the Photonics Research Group of Ghent University-IMEC.

Using CMOS fabrication tools, IMEC has reduced the 40-thousand-kilometer circumference at the equator down to 40 micrometer, about half the width of a human hair. The map is put in a corner of a optical silicon chip designed for one of the group’s research projects on nanophotonic integrated circuits. The scale reduction enables more complex optical functions on a single chip for applications in telecommunication, high-speed computing, biotechnology and health-care. Noteworthy, the factor of 1 trillion corresponds to the scale prefix Tera (like in Terabyte), but in this situation it would be better to call it ‘Terra’-scale.

Read more:

World Map Etched on a Tiny Silicon Chip - Wired Magazine

It’s a small world – Post from Photonics Research Group