World's smallest QR code measures just 1.98 square micrometers

Researchers at TU Wien in Vienna have created a QR code that covers an area of just 1.98 square micrometers—smaller than most bacteria, and awarded a world record by Guiness. The team etched the code into a thin ceramic layer, with individual pixels just 49 nanometers in size, in collaboration with Cerabyte.

Those pixels are roughly ten times smaller than the wavelength of visible light, making the code invisible to the human eye—"much like it is fundamentally impossible to feel Braille letters with the thick sole of an elephant’s foot." Storing the code on a thin ceramic film opens the door to keeping more data there in future.

"For high-performance tools, it is essential that materials remain stable and durable even under extreme conditions.

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