[HN Gopher] Tiny QR code achieved using electron microscope tech...
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Tiny QR code achieved using electron microscope technology
Author : jonbaer
Score : 33 points
Date : 2026-02-21 04:08 UTC (3 days ago)
(HTM) web link (newatlas.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (newatlas.com)
| spystath wrote:
| Despite the HN title (and while the focusing optics are similar),
| the structure in the article was directly milled with an ion beam
| (FIB), not electrons.
| Kiboneu wrote:
| Yeah. I drew mario on a pin head with a fib in 2015.
| mrbluecoat wrote:
| Looking at the end result, honestly surprised a QR code scanner
| could read it - other than the corner squares, the lack of pixel
| fidelity and strong outlines makes the code look melted or
| smudged
| ronsor wrote:
| Points on a QR code do not have to be square "pixels" anyway.
| abraxas wrote:
| In a way the story of nanofabrication seems like a tale of
| disappointment. Many decades after Feynman's "Plenty of room at
| the bottom" or Drexler's "Engines of creation" and we have very
| little to show in a way of progress. What happened? Why were
| knowledgeable minds like Feynman too optimistic about our ability
| to make this happen?
| volemo wrote:
| Talk's cheap.
|
| The feats we've archived in miniaturisation of logic and memory
| is already mind-blowing, in my opinion.
| tiazumdove wrote:
| Its a scaling problem. You can do a lot of cool things with
| fib/ebip etc. but the process itself is very slow and requires
| patience unless you want to destroy your structure via
| codeposits or other side effects. Kinda like the AI field back
| in the 80s the hardware still isn't there to really make use of
| the ideas.
| KK7NIL wrote:
| > we have very little to show in a way of progress. What
| happened?
|
| Our semiconductors have had features below 100 nm for a while
| (actual features, not just process node names), so that's been
| wildly successful.
|
| Why nanofabrication hasn't been as commercially successful
| outside of semiconductors is a much harder question to answer.
| abraxas wrote:
| Yes, of course the etching on silicon process has been
| refined to a level nobody thought possible. But this is more
| like a CNC process at a tiny level. What we don't have is
| additive manufacturing at nano scale. The nano assembler that
| Drexler and Feynman thought were possible is not panning out.
| KK7NIL wrote:
| I'll have to look up that idea of the "nano assembler" that
| you're referring, but I'll just mention that there is
| significant additive manufacturing in a modern
| semiconductor GAAFET node, with the entire transistor being
| grown.
|
| This video is a good summary of the main steps involved:
| https://youtu.be/xaKyDrWfHes
|
| It's certainly not as powerful or universal as 3D printing
| and it might not even be "additive manufacturing" proper,
| but it is a lot more than just etching/subtractive
| manufacturing.
| nerdjon wrote:
| Why did I see the headline and my first thought was the
| "Scientific Method" episode of Voyager.
|
| That being said, I am curious what the use case is. It mentions
| data storage but the QR code is not really storing data (ok it is
| storing _something_ obviously but not in the traditional sense).
| RedNifre wrote:
| QR codes store bits, arranged into bytes (A byte is the shape
| of a 3x3 square with one corner missing), so how more
| traditional can it get?
| InspGadget4343 wrote:
| Anyone else expecting to be rickrolled by the world's smallest QR
| code?
| mhdi_kr99 wrote:
| great, we can rick roll people in the next pandemic vaccines!
| isoprophlex wrote:
| Ha! Reminds me of when my buddy in grad school drew a dick with
| CO molecules. It was, what, 40 angstrom long?
|
| Good times.
| kekqqq wrote:
| Some time ago, I tried to use
| https://github.com/alisinabh/paperify to back up some data I had
| in the form of QR codes on paper. Turns out the standard printer
| is very limiting in terms of how many bits of data you can fit
| into paper if you want to read it reliably. I would guess this
| would be the same in their case. Maybe they will come up with a
| good protocol with error codes that would suit their "printer".
|
| Anyway, I like the concept of storing QR codes on paper or other
| medium even if it is not really practical.
| divan wrote:
| Fountain codes will work well here.
| LoganDark wrote:
| > Turns out the standard printer is very limiting in terms of
| how many bits of data you can fit into paper if you want to
| read it reliably.
|
| What print technology were you using? (Inklet, laser, etc.)
| kekqqq wrote:
| Tested on both ink and laser. There is a small introduction
| of error even with the laser printer and you have another
| error introduced by scanning. That limits how small the QR
| codes can be. Paper+QR codes are feasible only for very small
| files.
| ilija139 wrote:
| "A4 paper sheet-sized ceramic film could hold more than 2 TB of
| data" Just 2 TB? Makes you appreciate just how much 2 TB of data
| is.
|
| Also, what's the point of "storing our future" if it is so
| difficult to read and decode? How would one even know where to
| look for the data if it's get lost. So besides doing it for fun I
| don't see the point of this and how it can be ever scaled to be
| in everyday use.
| shevy-java wrote:
| Right. This is probably just a start though. Just as Richard
| Feynman stated:
|
| There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom.
|
| I recently wanted to purchase a 3TB harddrive. The price is not
| that heavy (e,. g. at around 100 Euro), but I also realised
| that I'd much prefer that price to go down significantly. I am
| still in shock at the RAM prices. That is no longer affordable
| really.
| shevy-java wrote:
| But how to read it out? Doesn't that take too long?
| caseyohara wrote:
| I imagine capacity/density and reliability/durability are more
| important factors than read speed when it comes to archival.
| npodbielski wrote:
| Anybody was able to read that? Mine phone app does not recognise
| this as qr code.
| stordoff wrote:
| iPhone 15 Pro (using the default Camera app) read it OK - it
| took me to https://www.tuwien.at/en/mwbw/wwwt/ww/ws
| flymasterv wrote:
| Technically, this is not a QR code. Under ISO 18004, QR codes
| must be 1cm x 1cm or larger.
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