A laminar structure upon a substrate is formed from a) a lattice layer comprising DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) segments arranged to form cells of the lattice layer, and b), at least one nanoparticle being disposed within each cell of the lattice layer. The nanoparticles are preferably of substantially uniform diameter not exceeding 50 nanometers. A coating may be applied to adhere the the particles to the substrate and to maintain their substantially uniform spaced-apart relationship. The DNA lattice layer is fabricated using known automated synthetis methods, and is designed to contain specific nucleotide base sequences which cause the DNA to form an ordered array of openings, or lattice cells, by self-assembly. Self-assembly of the DNA lattice may be at an air-liquid interface, or in solution. A preferred embodiment is a magnetic storage medium in which the particles are magnetic particles with diameters in the range of 5-20 nm., the particles being organized in square information bits with each bit holding of 4, 9, 16, 25 etc. particles to produce areal information storage densities on the order of 1000 gigabits (one terabit) per square inch. The lattice of bits may be stabilized and protected by a deposited thin film, hard, abrasion-resistant coating.