Atomic Pen Writes Nano-Sized Inscriptions

Atomic Pen Writes Nano-Sized Inscriptions

Kunal Gangar, Oct 20, 2008 1237 hrs IST

Writes text 40,000 times smaller than a human hair

Researchers at Osaka University have created a pen that can write on the surface of the metal by changing individual atoms on the surface.

Atomic Pen, as the researchers call it, works on the principle of atomic force microscope which interchanges the tin atoms with the silicon ones to write on the surface.

A demonstration held by them showed the inscription of letters "Si" on the semiconductor measured not more than 2x2 nanometers. In layman terms, the text was 40,000 times smaller than a human hair. The process however is time consuming as these characters took around 90 minutes to write.

The researchers tout the possibilities of this technology are endless. For instance, it can even build a powerful computer with the size not more than of a wristwatch.