Storing Data in Glass and Holograms: Is This the Future of Long-Term Storage?

As the amount of data in the world grows, glass and holograms can be used for long-term keeping.

Glass and Holographic Storage has Gotten Better

In 2039, the Imperial War Museum (IWM) will display artifacts from World War I. As a warm-up, Ian Crawford, IWM's Chief Information Officer, digitizes the museum's massive collection of pictures, audio recordings, and films. This huge project has 24,000 hours of video and 11 million photos.

Original materials get worn out over time, so digital copies are essential. It is very important to ensure digital archive storage methods work well. As the need for data keeping grows, creative ways must be found to keep track of and protect this vast amount of data.

Holographic storage is a big step forward, but more technologies are coming. Microsoft's Project Silica looks into how to store glass.

Microsoft saves data in many layers by using lasers to make voxels in glass; over seven terabytes of data can be stored on a piece of glass the size of a DDVD.Glass is strong and can handle a wide range of weather conditions, making it available to future generations.

Microsoft and HoloMem are pushing their long-term storage options as an excellent replacement for magnetic tape. Magnetic tape, especially LTO (Linear Tape-Open), is stable and cheap, but it doesn't last long and cannot handle some environments well. As more data is created, storage systems that can handle large amounts of data and expand are required.

How does holographic storage work?

Holographic storage saves information on multiple layers using lasers to make three-dimensional images of a material. To start the process, laser beams are split into two messages.

One beam is used as a guide, and the other sends data through an SLM. This modulator, which looks like a shutter, controls light well to show binary code. When The reference beam passes the data-carrying beam in the storage medium., a 3D interference pattern, or hologram, is made. This is how information is stored.

The reference beam must light up the hologram to read the saved data and rebuild the data-carrying beam. It is possible to store more three-dimensional material than two-dimensional media. Holographic storage media, like blank CDs or DVDs, spins to record data constantly. This lets many data snapshots or pages, represented by small cones inside the medium, be stored.

Holographic storage is excellent for long-term storage because it can hold a lot of data and last a long time. Its media is longer-lasting, and it can handle harsher environments than tape and optical disk storage.

To last at least 50 years, HoloMem's polymer blocks can handle temperatures from -14°C to 160°C. However, magnetic tapes must be kept at a specific temperature and changed every 15 years.

Holographic and glass storage could dramatically change the way we store and archive data. These technologies meet the rising need for efficient, long-term data storage by making data denser, lasting longer, and more resistant to environmental damage. These state-of-the-art materials and methods will protect the world's digital heritage by making data storage more reliable and long-lasting.