Communications of the ACM
Eternal 5d Data Storage Could Record the History of Humankind
Scientists at the University of Southampton have taken a major step forward in the development of digital data storage that is capable of surviving for billions of years.
Credit: University of Southampton (United Kingdom)
Researchers at the University of Southampton's Optoelectronics Research Center (ORC) have developed the recording and retrieval processes of five-dimensional (5D) digital data by femtosecond laser writing.
The researchers note the technology marks a key step in the quest for digital data storage that can last billions of years.
5D storage supports unprecedented properties, including 360 TB/disc data capacity, thermal stability up to 1,000 degrees Celsius, and virtually limitless lifetime at room temperature. Major historical documents have been saved as digital copies that could outlast mankind, recorded using ultrafast laser.
A file is written in three layers of nanostructured dots separated by five micrometers, which changes how light travels through glass, modifying polarization that can then be read by a combination of an optical microscope and a polarizer. Data is recorded using self-assembling nanostructures generated in fused quartz, with data encoding spanning five dimensions, including size, orientation, and the three-dimensional position of the nanostructures.
"It is thrilling to think that we have created the technology to preserve documents and information and store it in space for future generations," says ORC professor Peter Kazansky. "This technology can secure the last evidence of our civilization: all we've learnt will not be forgotten."
From University of Southampton (United Kingdom)
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Abstracts Copyright © 2016 Information Inc., Bethesda, Maryland, USA
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