Tiny Home Taken Beyond the Next Level—300 Micrometers

Some researchers are working to ensure the world imagined in the 2017 movie Downsizing becomes a reality.

A Science Daily post shares news of a new study published in theJournal of Vacuum Science and Technologythat claims ownership of the world's smallest house.

The house is the proof of a new frontier in optical nanotechnologies. French researchers created a nanofactory that "builds microstructures in a large vacuum chamber and fixes components onto optical fiber tips with nanometer accuracy." With that power, researchers built a microhouse.

"Building a microhouse is like making a giant dice from a piece of paper, but nanoassembly requires more sophisticated tools. The focused ion beam is used like scissors to cut or score the silica membrane "paper" of the house," according to the article announcing the technological breakthrough. "Once the walls fold into position, a lower power setting is selected on the ion gun, and the gas injection system sticks the edges of the structure into place. The low-power ion beam and gas injection then gently sputters a tiled pattern on the roof, a detail that emphasizes the accuracy and flexibility of the system."

We're pretty sure the microhouse is not anything planners need to worry about writing into zoning codes…not yet, anyway.