Revolutionizing Data Storage: The Petabit Optical Disc

February 25, 2024

The Future of Data Centers: Compact and Powerful Petabit Discs

Imagine storing the equivalent of the entire world's internet traffic in one second on a disc the size of a DVD. This isn't a distant dream anymore, thanks to a revolutionary optical disc technology developed by researchers in China. Capable of holding over 1.6 million gigabits (1.6 petabits) by encoding data in three dimensions, this technology outstrips current hard disks and Blu-ray discs by thousands of times in data density. Not only does it promise a seismic shift in how we store data, but it heralds a future where massive data centers could be condensed into the space of a single room, drastically reducing the environmental footprint of our digital lives.

Read the full story here: DVD’s New Cousin Can Store More Than a Petabit

Highlights

• Optical discs have historically been limited by their data capacity, typically storing information in a single layer.
• The new technology enables data encoding in 100 layers, significantly expanding storage capacity to 1.6 petabits.
• This development uses a pair of lasers to write and read data at nanometer scales, surpassing previous limitations.
• A novel material, AIE-DDPR, was essential in achieving efficient encoding and reading processes in three dimensions.
• The production process for these discs is compatible with existing DVD manufacturing, promising scalability.
• Improvements to writing speed and energy consumption are being pursued to make this technology viable for big data centers.

A groundbreaking study has introduced an optical disc, similar in size to a DVD, capable of storing more than 1 million gigabits of data. This ultrahigh-density optical disc surpasses conventional storage technologies by encoding data in three dimensions instead of just two. Utilizing microscopic pits and islands to represent binary code, this technology has traditionally been limited by the amount of data it can hold in a single layer.

The innovative approach taken by researchers in China overcomes previous barriers by encoding data across 100 layers of the optical disc. By using a pair of lasers for both the writing and reading processes, they've managed to record data in spots as small as 54 nanometers wide, significantly smaller than the wavelengths of visible light previously used. This breakthrough allows for a disc capacity of up to 1.6 petabits, showing potential to greatly reduce the physical footprint required for data storage in big data centers.

Additionally, the discovery of a novel light-sensitive material called AIE-DDPR is proving crucial in enabling these advanced storage capabilities. The potential for commercial scale production of these discs is high, given their compatibility with existing DVD mass production techniques. The push towards improving writing speed and energy consumption indicates ongoing optimization efforts, aimed at making this technology feasible for widespread use in data centers. This significant advancement in data storage presents a promising solution to managing the rapidly increasing data demands of the digital age.

Read the full article here.

Essential Insights

• Min Gu: A professor of optical-electrical and computer engineering at the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, who has contributed significantly to the development of ultrahigh-density optical data storage technology.
• AIE-DDPR: A novel light-sensitive material enabling efficient writing and reading processes in three-dimensional geometry, key to the new optical disc's data encoding strategy.
• University of Shanghai for Science and Technology: The institution where revolutionary work on petabit optical disc storage has been conducted.