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Record-breaking diamond storage can save data for millions of years

Researchers have used lasers to encode information in diamonds, demonstrating record-breaking data density in an ultra-stable and long-lasting system

By Jeremy Hsu

27 November 2024

最新麻豆视频. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

Diamonds can store data stably for long periods of time

University of Science and Technology of China

The famous marketing slogan about how a diamond is forever may only be a slight exaggeration for a diamond-based system capable of storing information for millions of years 鈥 and now researchers have created one with a record-breaking storage density of 1.85 terabytes per cubic centimetre.

Previous techniques have also used laser pulses to encode data into diamonds, but the higher storage density afforded by the new method means a diamond optical disc with the same volume as a standard Blu-ray could store approximately 100 terabytes of data 鈥 the equivalent of about 2000 Blu-rays 鈥 while lasting far longer than a typical Blu-ray鈥檚 lifetime of just a few decades.

鈥淥nce the internal data storage structures are stabilised using our technology, diamond can achieve extraordinary longevity 鈥 data retention for millions of years at room temperature 鈥 without requiring any maintenance,鈥 says at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei.

Wang and his colleagues worked with small pieces of diamond only a few millimetres long, although they say future versions of the system could be in the form of larger storage discs. Their method used ultrafast laser pulses to knock some of a diamond鈥檚 carbon atoms out of place, leaving behind empty spaces the size of single atoms that each exhibited a stable brightness level.

By controlling the energy of the laser, the researchers could make multiple empty spaces at specific sites within the diamond, and the density of those spaces influenced each site鈥檚 overall brightness. 鈥淭he number of empty spaces can be determined by looking at the brightness, which allows us to read the stored information,鈥 says Wang.

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The team then stored images 鈥 including聽Eadweard Muybridge鈥檚 1878 sequence of photos showing a rider on a galloping horse 鈥 by mapping the brightness of each pixel to the brightness levels of specific sites inside the diamond. The system saved this data with more than 99 per cent accuracy and completeness.

This storage method isn’t yet commercially viable because it requires expensive lasers and high-speed fluorescence imaging cameras, along with other devices, says Wang. But he and his colleagues expect that their diamond-based system could eventually be miniaturised to fit within a space the size of a microwave oven.

鈥淚n the short term, government agencies, research institutes and libraries focused on archiving and data preservation would likely be eager to adopt this technology,鈥 he says.

Journal reference

Nature Photonics

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