Just how small can a QR code be? Small enough that it can only be recognized with an electron microscope. A research team at TU Wien, working together with the data storage technology company Cerabyte, has now demonstrated exactly that. The QR code covers an area of just 1.98 square micrometers—smaller than most bacteria. The record has now been verified and officially entered into the Guinness World Records.

The technology has enormous potential for long-term data storage: Conventional magnetic or electronic data storage systems often have lifespans of only a few years. But if information is written bit by bit into ceramic materials, it can endure for centuries or even millennia.