HD-Rosetta

High-Density Rosetta (HD-Rosetta) is a permanent data storage device which contains engraved microscopic information on a small 2-inch (5.1 cm) nickel plate. Up to 196,000 8.5×11 in (22×28 cm) pages of information can be stored onto the plate using a focused ion beam. The image capacity for an HD-Rosetta disc can range from 10,000 to 100,000 images on a 4096 by 4096 pixel x vs. y plane. Similar to hieroglyphics and microfilm, HD-Rosetta is used for preserving information. Norsam Technologies has made HD-Rosetta extremely durable, compared to most archival data devices. It has an estimated longevity of 10,000 years, and it can withstand a minimum of 1000 years. HD-Rosetta has also been used for purposes other than archival. De Beers has currently used HD-Rosetta technology to provide clear marking on diamonds and other gemstones. HD-Rosetta does not require any specific software or operating systems to read the information: the information engraved onto the HD-Rosetta disc is easily accessed with a microscope.

To record information on HD-Rosetta, special formatting and tools must be used during the writing process. First, information is converted to digital format, or Norsam Technologies receives information in digital format. Digital format is required so the information could be written in micrometers, pixel by pixel, with the focused ion beam. The focused ion beam forces gallium ions down the main chamber and onto the surface of contact. At the point of contact, atoms from the nickel surface of HD-Rosetta are knocked off the plate; Essentially, an etch is made. After lightly milling or doping the surface, the mills are chemically treated. This speeds up the writing process by 100 times.

While HD-Rosetta disc can be accessed with a microscope, depending on the size of the etchings, different types of microscopes may be needed. For more than 196,000 pages, a scanning electron microscope would be utilized. For between 5,000 and 180,000 pages, an optical microscope would be used. To locate information rapidly, Norsam Technologies has developed a special HD-Rosetta reader to locate x,y,z coordinates. By simply typing a page number, the HD-Rosetta reader can locate the appropriate information and display it on a screen.

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