In the realm of nanotech, there are many cases in which specific functions are derived from nano-sized structure itself. However, even if creating such structures is possible, the investments required for equipment and processes may be prohibitively high. Keeping costs low enough to make production feasible is one of the major hurdles facing the practical application of nanotechnology.

It is precisely in this area, the creation of tiny structures at low cost, that Canon has focused its efforts in its R&D in the field of nanomaterials, and it has met with remarkable success in the manufacture of regular nanoholes.

Regular nanoholes are holes that boast very uniform size and arrangement. By filling these holes with magnetic material, it might be possible to create extremely high performance, high-density magnetic recording media (e.g. a 100 GB memory in the size of a compact flash card).