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Scientists have develop a young type of optical disk that can increase selective information storage capability to the " Pb " level — 125 terabytes of data , or the combined store capacity of about 15,000 DVDs .

visual discs , such as DVDs and Blu - ray phonograph record , are durable and inexpensive . A standard single - layer Blu - ray phonograph record can hive away 25 gigabytes . By compare , some USB flash drives can store 1 TB , and hard disk drive ( HDDs ) can hold up to 16 TB .

Optical disc drive on a modern laptop computer.

Scientists have developed a new type of optical disc that can increase information storage capacity to the “petabit” level — 125 terabytes of data.

But a team of scientist has created a raw type of material , called " dye - doped photoresist with aggregation - induced emission luminogens " ( AIE - DDPR ) with a high areal density ( the amount of data that can be stack away in a given area ) that can extend far denser storage capability than typical HDDs ) .

Given the increasing amount of information we generate each mean solar day , from instant message to stream telecasting , AIE - DDPR optical discs have the potential to revolutionize information storage . optic disc take up less outer space than current store methods , be more environmentally favorable and could become less expensive than data storage array .

They describe the details in a paper put out Feb. 21 in the journalNature .

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To enable nanoscale writing , record information on an opthalmic disk at the molecular point , AIE - DDPR incorporate two chemicals called 2 - isopropylthioxanthone ( ITX ) and dipentaerythritol penta - acrylate ( DTPA ) . ITX is an efficient photoinitiator , in that it respond when disclose to Light Within , such as that from a optical maser light beam . DTPA is a monomer — a lowly molecule — with a high radiosensitivity , think it react powerfully to ignitor . In effect , the two commingle to enable more entropy to be store more densely than ever before .

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For nanoscale meter reading , a chemical call up hexaphenylsilole ( HPS ) and a new material call AIE luminogens ( AIEgens ) were comprise into the film . AIEgens already have an implausibly high fluorescence — a eminent absorption pace of electromagnetic radiation — but this was further raise using a extremely focussed optical maser beam that fired in bursts hold up a femtosecond ( one - millionth of one - billionth of a indorsement ) during the writing process . This result in a far denser means of storing information on an optical disc .

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The scientist used multilayer nanoscale writing and reading , storing information in multiple layers at the molecular scale , to increase the disc ’s memory density . By reducing the space between level to 1 micrometer gauge ( one - one-thousandth of a millimeter ) , the inquiry squad hive away and retrieve 100 layer of data . The storage capacity was further expanded by storing selective information on both side of the magnetic disc , much like a vinyl record .

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Using multilayer nanoscale writing , the scientist store more than 1 petabit of data point on a undivided AIE - DDPR disc . This is more than the mental ability of 5,000 Blu - rays .

To be commercially viable , the writing upper will need to be improved and made more zip effective . The team hope to action this by using a far more exact laser light beam than was used in the experimentation .

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Given the increasing amount of data we beget each day , from instantaneous messages to streaming television , AIE - DDPR optical discs have the potential to revolutionize data point storage . Optical disc take up less infinite than current storage methods and could become less expensive than data point memory arrays .

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