Quartz Data Storage

A new medium for archiving digital data has been developed that utilizes thin slivers of quartz, fused together to form multiple layers. Data is recorded using a laser and can be read with a standard optical microscope. At four layers thick, the storage density is only a little better than a CD, however, additional layers can be added to increase the amount of information.

Due to is remarkable durability, the technology has been dubbed “semi-perpetual” storage, and is expected to be used initially for storing historical legacies, public documents and even personal data that people wish to preserve for generations. It’s not only waterproof, resistant to chemicals and undamaged by weather – it’s also highly heat resistant. Even after being subjected to temperatures of 1000 degrees Centigrade for two hours, data could be read without degradation, leading developers to believe that long-term storage on the order of hundreds of millions of years may be possible.