We remember the famous Optical Discs (CD, DVD, Blu-ray, …) and its duration very optimistic life when they were released. Facing the test of time, reality shows that data retention in these media it is quite random. That is why laboratories look for solutions to maintain the importance volumes data for as long as possible. Different techniques have been considered, combining the dimensions to increase the density.

The one imagined by researchers fromSouthampton University in the UK it could record 500 terabytes of data on a single glass disc the size of a CD. A density 10,000 times denser than what it can offer Blu-ray. This capacity could be used to store the equivalent of 125 million photos. That’s not all, since the storage medium would be durable, even eternal. It could withstand temperatures of up to 1,000 degrees, but above all its longevity would be 13,800 million years without degradation, if stored in good conditions.

Slow but durable

To accomplish these feats and increase density so much, the lab has relied on writing storage cells based on nanostructures. The team discusses structures written in To be in five dimensions5 D). There are, then, two optical dimensions and another three spatial ones. For their test, the scientists used this method to record 6 GB of data on a glass sample of silica one inch. The downside is that, side speed writing, the laser reaches a maximum of 230 kb / s. This is not fast, but since it is a long-term storage, the speed of gravure it is not necessarily a priority. It would take about 60 days to save this 500 TB of data. That said, the team is now working to increase this speed.