Irma D. Rutherford Storage is the sector of the digital world that stores data. The demand for storage is increasing as the world becomes more digitalized. Everyone wants better storage, whether it’s individuals, large and small organizations, government, public and private businesses, schools, and universities. Scientists have been innovating over the years to meet this demand. Storage technology has grown rapidly in the 21st century. We are now on our way to a major milestone: a new technology of storage that can store 500 TB in a 1-inch optical disk for billions and millions of years. You’ve probably heard of this. We are here to tell you about a new storage technology called ‘5D optical data storage’ or ‘Superman Memory Crystal.’ This post will begin with a description of 5D Optical Data storage, how it works, and its capabilities and limitations.
What is 5D optical data storage?
Scientists at the University of Southampton, UK, have developed a memory with a large capacity that can last for billions of years.
The data will be stored in two dimensions on CDs. The tiny pits either reflect or do not reflect on the CD, denoting 1s and 0s. The data will be held in three sizes on DVDs by burning holes into multiple layers. It is possible to write thousands of “layers” in one monolithic disc without adding any physical layers.
Scientists used birefringence on optical drives to increase storage capacity. It was possible to store more than one bit per voxel. Combining the birefringence method with a pit size of less than 200nm, the scientist created an optical disc capable of holding 8 bits of data in a single hole. This combination of technology allows for a storage capacity of hundreds of Terabytes on a 12cm disc.
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What is 5D optical data storage?
The 5D optical data-storage technology uses a femtosecond femtosecond to create 20 mm pits in fused silica that contain self-assembled nanostructures. Like polarized glasses, the nano gratings alter how light passes through them. The information that can be read about the nano gratings depends on how light is transformed. The changes in light are based on the orientation of the nanostructure. This allows for five different ‘dimensions of information.’ Here, you can read the technical details of the 5D optical storage technology.
Video clip from BBC Documentary: “The Secret Story of Stuff – Materials of the Modern Age.”
What does a 5D optical data storage disc look like?
The 5D Optical data storage disc is made from the same glass used in optical fiber cable. This creates a submarine cable network. The size is similar to a glass plate with a radius of half an inch and a thickness of around half a centimeter. The 5D optical disc is permanently burned with data by a powerful laser beam on a single layer. This creates pits that are less than 20 nanometers in size. Each hole is made in 256 different shapes and orientations to store 8 bits in each hole. This gives the impression of multi-dimensionality on a single disc. This multidimensional structure enables trillions of holes to be created on each layer. Scientists at Southampton University created 200 layers on a piece of glass half a centimeter in thickness.
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Data Storage Capacity
Its high density and its nano-sized pits allowed it to store several TB per disc 12 cm thick. According to an estimation, 500 TB could fit on a 12 cm disc.
The life span of 5D optical storage
The life expectancy of data storage is one of the most difficult problems we have ever faced. The current storage methods make it difficult to keep data intact for hundreds of years. Magnetic data storage, such as HDDs and magnetic tapes, have a life expectancy of 2 to 3 years. Solid-state drives, flash drives, and optical discs, such as Blu-ray, HD DVD, and CD, have a life expectancy of about ten years. Some devices, such as holographic memories, have a lifespan of only a few years. This new 5D data storage technology has broken through all barriers to storing data for billions of years. Scientists estimate that data can last up to 13 billion years, the age of the universe.
Sustainability of the 5D Optical Data Storage Disc
Survivability is a strong point of 5D optical disks. The 5D optical discs have a high level of survivability.
Read/Write Speed
This 5D optical data-storage technology has removed the barriers to storage capacity and lifespan. However, it faces a new challenge in data transfer. Scientists have recently described a novel method of writing the disc. This new technique uses two optical dimensions as well as three spatial dimensions for writing. This new technique has achieved speeds up to 1,000,000 pixels per second. That’s equivalent to 230 kilobytes per second. When compared to the rates of SSDs, which write data at 3 to 5Gbps, 23Kbps seems very slow. With 23Kbps, it takes about 700 years to write off 500TB of data.
Cost
At the time of writing, 5D optical storage technology was not available to the general public. It can, however, be made public within the next few years. It is not appropriate to talk about pricing at this time. As Dr. Kazansky said in a recent study, “This technology could easily be produced at a commercial level for large organizations (national archives, libraries, museums, and private organizations). Our method, we believe, will be attractive to the consumer market as well if hardware costs (especially the expensive femtosecond ) are reduced. When a new technology hits the market, it is evident. With more production and a drop in price, the days will pass.
Check out Mastering Linux Security – Top Linux Security Tools You Should KnowIt’s all about the 5D optical storage technology. We hope we’ve answered some basic questions regarding the new 5D optical storage technology.
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