End of digital decay? Scientists find a new way to preserve data that could outlive civilisations

Scientists have developed a breakthrough in long-term archival storage using nanostructured glass, marking a significant move beyond the fragile magnetic storage of the past. This new storage solution-utilizing laser writing in glass-is estimated to last over 10,000 years. Meanwhile, buzz in data centres and cloud storage facilities has been going, which currently relies on hard disks and magnetic tapes that requires data to be periodically copied onto new hardware.

The research study further suggests that storing data in glass-including scientific papers-could pave the way for preserving human knowledge for future civilizations.

To achieve these results, scientists from Microsoft in Cambridge, United Kingdom say they have developed a novel method using a specialized laser. The system works by utilizing a femtosecond laser to encode data into a group of symbols, effectively storing information within the glass.

The data is then encoded as tiny deformations, known as voxels, within a piece of glass. The voxels are read by sweeping the glass under an automated microscope equipped with a camera. To maximize effectively, the data is written at the laser's maximum repetition rate of 10 MHz- 10 million pulses per second- with each pulse writing a single voxel. Nonetheless, this breakthrough provides a novel way to preserve history while transforming data centers and cloud storage infrastructure.