Metal oxide crystals of rare metals can store thousands of times more data than traditional storage methods due to a new storage technique. This has been made possible by manipulating the atoms within these crystals.
Researchers at the University of Chicago recently published the results of a study of new storage methods. In doing so, the scientists investigated whether they could achieve data storage at the level of atoms.
In (traditional) binary storage, data is stored by circuits that assume two states, on or off. Information is captured by activating or deactivating small elements.
Binary atomic storage in crystals
In the study, the scientists looked to see if they could also apply this principle at the level of atoms. This was…