A new laser printing technology has allowed researchers to produce a colour image of Mona Lisa in a size less than one pixel on an iPhone Retina display. Researchers used nanotechnology for the new printing technology that can provide high-resolution data and colour images of unprecedented quality and microscopic dimensions.

Researchers from DTU Nanotech and DTU Fotonik in Denmark said the laser technology prints a resolution of 127,000 DPI, higher than the common resolution of 300 DPI used to print high-quality magazines. The technology uses a special nanoscale-structured surface to print microscopic images.

The structure has rows with small columns, with merely 100 nanometres of diameter each. Researchers covered the structured surface with 20 nanometres of aluminium.

The laser uses heat that determines which colours are printed on the surface, while the columns deform and decide which colour is reflected. Low-intensity laser pulses cause minor deformation of the nanocolumn, leading to blue and purple colour tone reflections, while strong laser pulses cause drastic deformation that produces orange and yellow colour tone reflections.

"Every time you make a slight change to the column geometry, you change the way it absorbs light. The light which is not absorbed is the colour that our eyes see,” said Professor N. Asger Mortensen from DTU Fotonik. “If the column absorbs all the blue light, for example, the red light will remain, making the surface appear red."

The researchers said in a report, published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, the laser printing technology has a wide range of applications. It has the potential to be used to save data invisible to the naked eye, such as serial numbers or bar codes of products.

“The technology can also be used to combat fraud and forgery, as the products will be labelled in way that makes them very difficult to reproduce,” said Professor Anders Kristensen from DTU Nanotech. “It will be easier to determine whether the product is an original or a copy."

The technology could also help design products like mobile phones with unique decorations. Researchers said foreign companies producing parts for cars are interested in the technology as it can help simplify production.

The DTU researchers have already applied the laser printing technology for a patent. The team is aiming to develop the technology to replace conventional laser printers.

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