Disk that can Store Data for a million years

Magnetic disk drive storage that we are using today, since 1950, have a lifespan for which data can be stored, little more a decade. This is about to change. Take a look at the video…

This happens because their magnetic energy barrier is low so that the information is lost after a period.

CDs, DVDs, paper, tape, clay and tablets and stone also have a limited life.

Researcher Jeroen de Vries developed an optical information disk that can store data for extremely long periods, more than a million years, where each bit is written by etching techniques.

As an information carrier is selected for a wafer, consisting of tungsten encapsulated by silicon nitride. Tungsten was chosen because it can withstand extreme temperatures. The QR code is etched into the tungsten (above picture) and is protected by the nitride. Each pixel of the large QR code contains a smaller QR code to display different information stored therein.

Archival storage for up to one billion years

According to researcher De Vries, it is possible to conceive of a number of scenarios why we wish to store information for a long time. “One scenario is that a disaster has devastated the earth and society must rebuild the world. Another scenario could be that we create a kind of legacy for future intelligent life that evolves on Earth or comes from other worlds. You must then think about archival storage of between one million and one billion years.”