World's smallest Mona Lisa created on one-third the width of human hair

Researchers have recreated the world's most famous painting of Mona Lisa on a substrate surface approximately 30 microns in width or one-third the width of a human hair.

The creation-"Mini Lisa"- by the researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology, demonstrates a technique that could potentially be used to achieve nano-manufacturing of devices because the team was able to vary the surface concentration of molecules on such short-length scales.

The image was created with an atomic force microscope and a process called ThermoChemical NanoLithography (TCNL).

Going pixel by pixel, the Georgia Tech team positioned a heated cantilever at the substrate surface to create a series of confined nanoscale chemical reactions.

By varying only the heat at each location, Ph.D. Candidate Keith Carroll controlled the number of new molecules that were created. The greater the heat, the greater the local concentration.

More heat produced the lighter shades of gray, as seen on the Mini Lisa's forehead and hands. Less heat produced the darker shades in her dress and hair seen when the molecular canvas is visualized using fluorescent dye. Each pixel is spaced by 125 nanometers.

The study is published online in the journal Langmuir.