IEEE Spectrum June 26, 2019 The highest prefix in the international system of units is yotta, Y is 10 to the power of 24. We’ll have that many bytes within a decade. And once we start creating more than 50 trillion bytes of information per person per year, will there be any real chance of making effective use of it? It is easier to find new prefixes for large databases than to decide how large is large enough. After all, there are fundamental differences between accumulated data, useful information, and insightful knowledge…read more.
Category Archives: Data storage
Key obstacles to scaling up DNA data storage
Science Daily June 3, 2019 To reach practical capacities, new systems for organizing and accessing information are needed. Researchers at North Carolina State University used chemical handles to selectively extract unique files from a complex database of DNA mimicking 5 TB of data and designed and implemented a nested file address system that increases the theoretical maximum capacity of DNA storage systems by five orders of magnitude. The advancements enable the development and future scaling of DNA-based data storage systems with modern capacities and file access capabilities…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLES
Making steps toward improved data storage
Phys.org November 7, 2018 Researchers in Japan developed a terahertz pulse generator that delivered ultra-short and highly intense terahertz pulses across a pair of gold antennas. The pulses created an electric field in the material composed of germanium, antimony and tellurium (GST) sample, comparable to that of an electrically switched device. It greatly reduced the heat diffusion because of the extremely short duration of terahertz pulses enabling fine control over the rate and direction of GST crystallization. After a certain point when terahertz pulses were increased, crystal conductivity rapidly sped up instead of rising in line with the increase in […]
A USB stick? In the distant future, a little powder should suffice
Nanowerk October 29, 2018 Researchers in Belgium developed a chemical process that allowed information, such as a piece of text or a QR code, to be stored in powder form. This information can then be read out by means of a biochemical method of analysis. They wrote two programs to make the processing of information run fast and automatically. The first program makes sure that the data on the molecules can be analysed in seconds, the second program automates the translation process from the QR code to the molecules and vice versa. That is how the information stored in the […]
Scientists discover new mechanism for information storage in one atom
Phys.org September 25, 2018 An international team of researchers (China, Russia) has shown a mechanism for single-atom magnetic storage based on bistability in the valency of an individual Co atom on semiconducting black phosphorus (BP). Calculations reveal that distance-dependent screening from the BP surface stabilizes the two distinct valencies, each with a unique orbital population, total magnetic moment, and spatial charge density. Excellent correspondence between the measured and predicted charge densities reveal that such orbital configurations can be accessed and manipulated without a spin-sensitive readout mechanism. This orbital memory derives stability from the energetic barrier to atomic relaxation, demonstrating the […]
Two-dimensional multibit optoelectronic memory
Nanowerk September 21, 2018 An international team of researchers (Singapore, China) developed multibit nonvolatile optoelectronic memory based on a heterostructure of monolayer tungsten diselenide and few-layer hexagonal boron nitride. It ensures over 128 (7 bit) distinct storage states. The memory demonstrates robustness with retention time over 4.5 × 104 s. The heterostructure architecture is also applicable to other two-dimensional materials, which is confirmed by the realization of black phosphorus/boron nitride optoelectronic memory… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
World’s densest, totally silent solid-state drive
Phys.org August 9, 2018 Intel’s newest solid-state drive, the Intel SSD DC P4500, is about the size of a 12-inch ruler and can store 32 terabytes. It is built on Intel 3-D NAND technology, which stacks memory cells atop each other in multiple extremely thin layers, instead of just one. Memory cells in the P4500 are stacked 64 layers deep. In data centers, the no-moving-parts ruler-shaped SSDs can be lined up 32 side-by-side, to hold up to a petabyte in a single server slot. Compared with a traditional SSD, the “ruler” requires half the airflow to keep cool. And compared […]
Manipulating single atoms with an electron beam
Eurekalert July 9, 2018 An international team of researchers (Austria, Norway, Belgium) used the advanced electron microscope to move single silicon atoms in graphene with atomic precision. They have taken the first steps towards automation by detecting the jumps in real time. The new results also improve theoretical models of the process by including simulations. In total, the researchers recorded nearly 300 controlled jumps. Silicon impurity could be moved back and forth between two neighboring lattice sites separated by one tenth-billionth of a meter, like flipping an atomic-sized switch. In principle, this could be used to store one bit of […]
A step closer to single-atom data storage
Phys.org July 10, 2018 Researchers in France found that the holmium atoms could retain record-breaking coercivity in a magnetic field exceeding 8 Tesla. Only at around 45K, the magnets began to spontaneously align themselves to the applied magnetic field. This showed that they can withstand relatively high temperature perturbations and might point to the way forward for running single-atom magnets at more commercially viable temperatures. Each atom can store a single bit of data that can be written and read using quantum mechanics. Such devices promise enormous data capacities… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE