Despite all technological progress, it is still difficult to securely store large amounts of data over even relatively short timescales of 100 years. There are a rising number of data warehouses however there aren’t enough for current and future data storage needs. Our 5D optical data storage technology eliminates this problem by storing high capacity digital information that could survive the human race.

The 5D optical data storage works by creating tiny - with a lateral size of tens of nanometers - voxels within the fused silica glass using femtosecond laser pulses. These voxels possess birefringence, i.e. they transmit orthogonally polarized light differently. In other words, they change how light travels through them much in the same way that polarized sunglasses do, allowing scientists to read information about each depending on how the light is transformed. The changes to the light convey five ‘dimensions’ of information (thus the name), based on a voxel location within the fused quartz slab (three spatial coordinates), orientation of the voxel birefringence axis and the voxel birefringence strength.

The technology exploits high purity fused quartz substrates, which can reach various sizes up to several meters. We are currently using 25 mm diameter discs, which are easy to handle and investigate. However, in future we plan to look into 3 mm thick  5” x 5” standard fused quartz plates, which should ultimately fit about 360 TB.

The current achievable density is several TB per disc (CD size of 12 cm, 1.2 mm thickness), which is of the same order as magnetic disc data storage. In a couple of years, we hope to achieve about 20 TB per disc. We estimate the ultimate capacity of 360 TB data storage per disc using this 5D Optical technology.

The lifetime of the voxel  is about 10^20 year at room temperature, indicating unprecedented safety of the data imprinted in fused quartz. Even at elevated temperatures of 190 deg C the extrapolated decay time is comparable with the age of the Universe—13.8 billion years.

The 5D Optical Data storage has extremely high data stability because the information is recorded in structural modifications within fused quartz glass, one of the most chemically and thermally durable materials on Earth. The discs can withstand fire and temperatures of up to 1000deg C. The glass can withstand direct impact of up to ½ ton, and are not susceptible to humidity, liquid damage or electro-magnetic pulse.

SPhotonix does not have access to the data stored on the 5D Memory crystal after it has been securely delivered to the customer. The data is physically encoded into the crystal's nanostructures, and SPhotonix does not retain copies or access methods once the crystal is delivered.

It is really limitless as all sectors have a need to store digital data securely and this is only going to increase. SPhotonix technology has many use cases for both archival data storage and readable data storage. Sectors likely to use 5D Memory Crystal for data storage include:

• DNA and ancestor organisations

• Scientific research institutions

• Historical archives, museums, libraries and auction houses

• Health care providers, labs and research organizations

• Insurance companies and professional organizations

• Defence and intelligence organizations and businesses

• Film studios, production companies, recording artists and artwork

• Government agencies for long-term record keeping

• Financial institutions for secure data preservation

• Energy sector companies with large-scale data storage needs

• Space agencies for durable data storage in extreme conditions

• Entertainment, Gaming and Content businesses that want to preserve their IP in perpetuity

The data in a 5D Memory Crystal is highly readable with the right equipment. The crystal uses five-dimensional data encoding (three spatial dimensions plus two optical dimensions), allowing for high data density and longevity even under the most extreme environmental conditions.

We use advanced microscopy to decode the five dimensions of data etched into the crystal. Currently we offer a lab-based service that includes one read (*additional read bundles can be purchased along with ad hoc requests as needed). Customers that buy crystals now will be the first to be able to purchase our consumer reading devices likely over the next 3-4 years as we continue to innovate to increase read/write speeds for widespread adoption of this technology across enterprise and consumer data storage requirements.

Data storage in the crystal is highly secure and private. The physical nature of the storage medium makes it immune to traditional hacking methods. Without the specialized equipment required for reading, the data remains inaccessible.

Our 5D Memory Crystals  are made from fused quartz, a chemically stable and abundant material. The crystals do not require power for data retention and will last for over a thousand years

The data storage market is experiencing rapid growth due to increasing digitization across industries, the rise of big data, and the proliferation of IoT devices. The need for innovative storage solutions like 5D Memory Crystals is driven by the exponential increase in data generation and retention requirements. 90% of data was created in the last two years and analysts estimate over 291 Zetabytes by 2027 which has spurred the need for increased data archiving and data preservation requirements.

Customers can include drawings and graphics to be printed on the crystals (*best to use black or white or grayscale). These images tell the story of your data etched into the quartz glass for storage. Please see our Collections for design inspiration.

2.5cm Disc could store up to 10TB
2inch Platter could store up to 57TB
5inch Platter could store up to 360TB