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Research has suggested that diamond-based storage technology could preserve vast amounts of information for up to millions of years.
The work carried out by a team at the University of Science and Technology of China achieved a new record for storage density in diamonds, at 1.85 terabytes per cubic centimeter.
As impressive as the storage capacity is, the researchers believe this can be eclipsed by the staying power. It has been claimed the diamond system can hold data for millions of years, due to the technique used to encode information within the atomic structure of the diamond.
As published in Nature Photonics, the scientific breakthrough extends beyond the significant density capacity with marked improvement in read times. The team indicated high-speed readout showed a fidelity of over 99%.
“Here we present a diamond storage medium that exploits fluorescent vacancy centers as robust storage units and provides a high storage density of 14.8 Tbit cm−3, a short write time of 200 fs, and an estimated ultralong maintenance-free lifespan on the scale of millions of years,” said the authors in the paper.
To put the advances into context, advanced hard disk drives can reach around one terabyte per cubic centimeter, while a diamond optical disk can store data at a rate of density 2,000 greater than an ordinary Blu-ray disk.
So much for Meta’s Quest mixed reality headset being futuristic, this project takes research into a new realm.
How does the diamond-based storage work?
It is certainly not easy, or a readily available method.
To create the innovative storage device, the Chinese University team fired ultrafast lasers at tiny diamond fragments with the pulses displacing some carbon atoms to create spaces within the structure.
The empty spaces function as the storage repositories and the building blocks of the system.
At this stage, the concept is not commercially viable due to the scarcity and high costs of the equipment required, but researchers are optimistic their endeavors could lead to advances in the technology to potentially preserve the story of our civilization for the distant future.
However, the researchers are optimistic that future advancements could lead to miniaturization of the technology, making it more affordable and accessible.
Image credit: Via Midjourney
