Nanocrystals may replace traditional hard drives for data storage
Nano-sized crystals of salt encoded with data using light from a laser could be the next data storage technology of choice.
Physicists from the Faculty of Sciences have demonstrated a novel and energy-efficient approach to storing data using light.
Research shows that fluorescent nanocrystals could represent a promising alternative to traditional hard drive solid-state drive data storage or Blu-ray discs.
In the project led by Dr Nick Riesen, scientists have demonstrated rewritable data storage in crystals that are 100s of times smaller than that visible with the human eye.
“With the use of data in society increasing dramatically due to the likes of social media, cloud computing and increased smart phone adoption, existing data storage technologies such as hard drive disks and solid-state storage are fast approaching their limits,” Dr Riesen said.
About the researchers
- Dr Riesen is a Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS). He is also a Research Fellow at the University of South Australia.
- Adelaide scientists involved in this project include PhD candidate Xuanzhao Pan, Dr Yinlan Ruan, Dr Tim (Jiangbo) Zhao and Professor Heike Ebendorff-Heidepriem.
- The project is a collaboration between the University of Adelaide, UniSA and University of New South Wales.
Further reading
Image courtesy Travis Jennings - CC BY 3.0.