New magnetic molecules could increase hard-drives’ storage capacity.
But when it comes to storage density, there’s still plenty of room for improvement. Cue the Viennese inventors of the world’s smallest QR-code, its individual pixels measuring a miniscule 49 nanometres in size.
The pixels were carved into a thin ceramic layer using ion beams, and the code itself (1.98 square micrometres!) could only be read with an electron microscope.
Using this method, 2 terabytes of data could be stored on a single sheet of A4 paper. The ceramic layer ensures the data carrier remains stable for centuries (like DNA). No need for additional energy input or cooling.
Printing QR-codes with certain microparticles enhances forgery-proof features for products or documents.
