Scientists create world’s smallest QR code

The breakthrough, led by researchers at TU Wien, uses ceramic materials to encode information at the nanoscale. The QR code is so small it can only be viewed with an electron microscope.

“The structure we have created here is so fine that it cannot be seen with optical microscopes at all,” said Prof. Paul Mayrhofer. “But that is not even the truly remarkable part… What we have done is something fundamentally different. We have created a tiny, but stable and repeatedly readable QR code.”

Unlike conventional storage technologies, which degrade over time, the new method engraves data into ultra-stable ceramic layers. Each pixel measures just 49 nanometers, making the code invisible under normal conditions but fully readable using advanced imaging.

Researchers say the approach could allow more than 2 terabytes of data to be stored within an area the size of a single A4 sheet, without requiring electricity or maintenance.

“We live in the information age, yet we store our knowledge in media that are astonishingly short-lived,” said Alexander Kirnbauer. “With ceramic storage media, we are pursuing a similar approach to that of ancient cultures… whose inscriptions we can still read today.”

The record-setting QR code, verified with the participation of independent experts, is now officially recognized by Guinness as the smallest of its kind, measuring just 37% of the previous record.

“The now confirmed world record marks just the beginning of a very promising development,” Kirnbauer added, noting plans to scale the technology for industrial use.

The innovation could pave the way for long-term, energy-efficient data preservation lasting centuries or even millennia.

Earlier, in October 2024, Qazinform News Agency reported that a Japanese toy company unveiled the world’s smallest Rubik’s Cube, a fully functional six-sided puzzle small enough to fit under a fingertip.