Research Team Develops Petabit-Capacity Optical Disc Memory
A prestigious scientific journal, Nature, has reported that a collaborative research team from the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, along with other research bodies, has successfully developed a three-dimensional nano-optical disc memory with a petabit capacity.
According to the journal, the team has achieved a photonic data storage capacity at the petabit level by expanding the recording structure from two to three dimensions, incorporating hundreds of layers and breaking through the optical diffraction limit of recorded spots. The minimum size for a recorded spot and the lateral distance between tracks was reduced to 54 and 70 nanometers, respectively, as stated by China's Xinhua News Agency.
The magazine detailed that the team has created an optical recording medium based on a light-resistant film doped with dye molecules that exhibit aggregation-induced emission, which can be optically stimulated by femtosecond laser pulses.
This new technology marks the first worldwide accomplishment of an optical disc with a petabit capacity. The research results are expected to lead to breakthroughs in the archival data storage capacities of data centers and address challenges in high-capacity, energy-efficient storage technologies.