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Physicists at Loughborough University have fabricated what they call the "world's smallest violin" — a platinum microstructure small enough to sit across a single human hair. Created to verify a new nanolithography system, the tiny violin demonstrates manufacturing precision that could inform the next generation of data storage and computing devices.
Microscopic craftsmanship and why size matters
The platinum violin measures roughly 35 microns long and 13 microns wide. To put that in perspective, typical human hairs range from about 17 to 180 microns in diameter, while tiny organisms like tardigrades measure between 50 and 1,200 microns. The instrument is not playable — it is an intricate test pattern produced to push and validate the capabilities of advanced nanoscale fabrication tools.
Images of the structure placed beside a human hair were captured with a Keyence VHX-7000N digital microscope, making the scale immediately clear. According to Professor Kelly Morrison, head of the Physics Department, building the miniature violin was more than a novelty: the exercise helped the team refine techniques and workflows that they will now apply to applied research.
How the NanoFrazor sculpts at the nanoscale
At the heart of the lab system is the NanoFrazor from Heidelberg Instruments, a nano-sculpting tool that uses thermal scanning probe lithography. A heated, needle-like tip mechanically writes patterns by locally changing the surface, allowing features to be formed with nanometre precision. To avoid contamination from dust or moisture, the entire setup operates inside a sealed glovebox.
The violin was made by coating a chip with two layers of resist, then using the NanoFrazor to burn the violin-shaped pattern into the top layer. After dissolving the bottom resist to reveal a cavity, engineers deposited a thin layer of platinum and removed remaining resist with acetone. While each fabrication cycle can take around three hours, achieving a dependable and repeatable process required many months of refinement.
From artful patterns to practical devices
Beyond the visual proof-of-concept, the nanolithography platform is being used to explore several advanced computing and storage concepts. One project, led by Dr Naëmi Leo, investigates using controlled heat flows to boost data storage and processing. By combining magnetic and electric materials with nanoparticles that convert light into localized heat, her team is studying temperature gradients as a way to switch or read information more efficiently.
Another line of research, led by Dr Fasil Dejene, focuses on quantum materials as potential successors to conventional magnetic bits. As storage elements shrink, magnetic stability becomes harder to maintain; quantum materials may enable smaller, faster, and more robust memory architectures, with possible ties to neuromorphic or brain-inspired computing.
Conclusion
The tiny platinum violin is more than a clever headline: it highlights the precision and flexibility of modern nanolithography and the NanoFrazor platform. By refining fabrication methods at this scale, researchers are unlocking new experiments in heat-assisted switching, quantum material prototyping, and novel memory concepts that could shape future hard disks and other next-generation devices.
Source: lboro.ac
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