Data Storage

Digital data storage is far from permanent. The data on your hard drive or flash drive probably won't last more than a few decades, but Harvard researchers have created what they say is a much longer-term alternative using spots of glowing dye.

Most memory devices us electric signals, but an emerging technology uses light, so data can be read back just by checking if an LED is on or off. Now, researchers have developed a new device based entirely on perovskite that can do both at once.

By leveraging the wonder material graphene, a group at the University of Cambridge is claiming an advance in data storage that resembles more of a leap than a step forward. The team says the technology enables a ten-fold increase in data density.

In this world overflowing with data and content, external solid state drives are becoming faster. A new SSD called GigaDrive boasts read and write speeds of up to 2,800 MB/s thanks to its architecture and Thunderbolt 4- and USB4-compatible port.

A team of researchers led by professor of pharmaceutical sciences John Chaputa at the University of California, Irvine, are developing methods for storing vast amounts of data on strands of synthetic DNA that are tougher than natural DNA.

Magnetic tape may seem an antiquated data storage technology, but its density and capacity is still hard to beat for big data centers. Now, IBM and Fujifilm have created a prototype high-density tape cartridge with a record-breaking 580 TB capacity.

Researchers at the University of Tokyo have made magnetic tape using a new material, which allows higher storage density and more protection against interference, as well as a new way to write to the tape using high frequency millimeter waves.

Storing the world’s knowledge digitally online makes it vulnerable to being lost in a disaster. As a backup, GitHub has now archived 21 TB of public open source data and buried it in a vault in the Arctic in an effort to preserve it for 1,000 years.

Samsung has unveiled its latest lineup of solid state drives for PCs. The 870 QVO SATA SSD packs capacity options between 1 TB and a beefy 8 TB, making it one of the roomiest consumer-level SSDs out there.

A new type of data storage system could be denser, smaller, faster and more energy efficient than silicon chips. The new method involves encoding data in sliding stacks of two-dimensional layers of metals.

Just one gram of DNA can store 215 million GBs of data. Artificial DNA data storage systems could soon become more practical, thanks to a new technology named DORIS that can read and write files at room temperature without damaging the DNA.

Samsung has stepped up data transfer speed game in a big way, rolling into this year’s CES with the portable T7 Touch SSD that offers double the read and write speeds of its predecessor, along with a fingerprint scanner for extra peace of mind.