Scientists stored data in rare-earth crystal which could one day delivery terabyte-class storage the size of a small grain of rice

Date:
Fri, 28 Feb 2025 18:32:00 +0000

Description:
Scientists have found a way to use atomic level defects in crystals as a method of data storage.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Scientis ts at UChicago PME develop a new atomic-scale data storage method Their approach uses crystal defects to store data as ones and zeroes Research combines quantum science, optical storage, and radiation dosimetry

All digital systems use bits, represented as ones and zeroes, to store, compute, and manage data. Storage device size has long been restricted by the physical scale of the binary data units, but scientists at the University of Chicagos Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering ( UChicago PME ) have come up with an intriguing solution.

Their new method for data storage manipulates atomic-scale crystal defects - microscopic gaps where atoms are missing - so they can hold an electrical charge, allowing them to be designated as ones and zeroes, much like in
binary data storage.

Its impossible to find crystals - in nature or artificial crystals - that
dont have defects, explained Leonardo Frana, the study's first author. So
what we are doing is we are taking advantage of these defects. Terabytes of bits in a 1mm cube

A paper detailing the breakthrough has been published in the journal Nanophotonics , as to develop the memory storage system, researchers used crystals of Yttrium oxide and added ions of praseodymium, a rare-earth element.

When the crystal absorbs sufficient energy, it releases electrons and holes. And these charges are captured by the defects, Frana said. We can read that information. You can release the electrons, and we can read the information
by optical means.

This advancement draws on interdisciplinary research, combining principles from quantum science and optical storage. The work stems from earlier studies on radiation dosimeters - devices used to monitor radiation exposure levels
in environments like hospitals and particle accelerators.

We found a way to integrate solid-state physics applied to radiation
dosimetry with a research group that works strongly in quantum, although our work is not exactly quantum, said Frana.

There is a demand for people who are doing research on quantum systems, but
at the same time, there is a demand for improving the storage capacity of classical non-volatile memories. And its on this interface between quantum
and optical data storage where our work is grounded.

Each memory cell is a single missing atom - a single defect, explained Assistant Professor Tian Zhong from UChicago PME. Now you can pack terabytes of bits within a small cube of material thats only a millimeter in size. You might also like These are the best cloud backup services you can get now DNA storage finally reaches mainstream (well, sort of) System that can store data for 5000+ years edges closer to commercialization



======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/scientists-stored-data-in-rare-earth-crystal-whi ch-could-one-day-delivery-terabyte-class-storage-the-size-of-a-small-grain-of- rice


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 (Linux/64)
* Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100)