IBM scientists have created a 3D map of the world tiny enough that 1,000 of its kind could fit on a grain of salt, according to the firm.
Furthermore, it suggested this patterning technique could be adapted in development of nanosized objects in a number of industries, including electronics, chip technology and optoelectronics.
To prove its capability, IBM's team created a 3D replica of the famous Alpine mountain, the Matterhorn out of molecular glass to a scale of 1:5 billion.
Dr Armin Knoll of IBM Research in Zurich said that advances in nanotechnology were linked to high-quality means for developing nanoscale patterns and objects on surfaces.
"With its broad functionality and unique 3D patterning capability, this nanotip-based patterning methodology is a powerful tool for generating very small structures," he added.
The organisation operates in 170 countries and employs almost 400,000 employees worldwide.
