Laser writing in glass for dense, fast and efficient archival data storage

Long-term preservation of digital information is vital for safeguarding the knowledge of humanity for future generations. Existing archival storage solutions, such as magnetic tapes and hard disk drives, suffer from limited media lifespans that render them unsuitable for long-term data retention1–3. Optical storage approaches, particularly laser writing in robust media such as glass, have emerged as promising alternatives with the potential for increased longevity. Previous work4–16 has predominantly optimized individual aspects such as data density but has not demonstrated an end-to-end system, including writing, storing and retrieving information. Here we report an optical archival storage technology based…