Titanium Oxide For High-Density Optical Storage

Stoobalou and other readers sent along word of research out of Japan, using a new crystal form of titanium oxide for high-density data storage — promising discs that store 1,000 times more data than Blu-ray does today, up to 25 TB. The material transforms from a black-colored metal state that conducts electricity into a brown semiconductor when hit by light, at room temperature. Titanium oxide's market price is about one-hundredth that of the rare element that is currently used in rewritable Blu-ray discs and DVDs. The material is cheap and safe, and is already being used in many products ranging from face powder to white paint. The researchers successfully created the material in particles measuring as small as 5 nanometers in diameter.

Comments

Slashdotted, Coral cache link

[TeknoHog]

http://www.redorbit.com.nyud.net/news/technology/1869698/new_disc_could_hold_a_thousand_times_more_data/

Good for archival purposes?

[pegasustonans]

Are there any projections/estimates related to how stable this media would be when used for long-term archival storage?

Re:Good for archival purposes?

[Thanshin]

I admit having no idea about the answer to that very interesting question but the fact that the surface changes "when hit by light, at room temperature" makes me suspect it doesn't have much chance on that front.

We need a disk that can only be writen by divine intervention at Hell's main furnace, temperature.

Re:Good for archival purposes?

[Vekseid]

Titanium dioxide itself is ridiculously stable. It's what makes it so safe - we use it to whiten marshmallows for crying out loud. How stable the structure is is an open question though, it doesn't say what frequency or intensity of light.

Re:Good for archival purposes?

[Anonymous Coward]

Are you saying I could store my entire porn collection on marshmallows?

Isn't your porn collection sticky enough already?

Re:Good for archival purposes?

[Culture20]

Are there any projections/estimates related to how stable this media would be when used for long-term archival storage?

If the state changes in light, then there are some rules to follow:

1. No bright light
2. Don't get them wet
3. Never feed them after midnight, no matter how much they beg

Re:Good for archival purposes?

[Megaweapon]

We need a disk that can only be writen by divine intervention at Hell's main furnace, temperature.

That would be "The Matrix: Revolutions" special edition BluRay with extended director's apology voice track.

Titanium dioxide?

[AliasMarlowe]

TFA and TFS both refer to "Titanium oxide" which typically means either TiO or Ti2O3 (Ti in either II or III states). However, both TFS and TFA also assert that the "Titanium oxide" is used in sunscreen and suchlike, which implies it is Titanium dioxide, TiO2 (Ti in IV state), not Titanium oxide.
Most likely, TFA should have referred to Titanium dioxide, as this is also a semiconductor in crystalline state.

Re:Titanium dioxide?

[NewToNix]

A better description is simply 'a Titanium metal oxide' - the phase shift is between Ti3O5 and -Ti3O5. http://www.nature.com/nchem/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/nchem.670.html/

"This is the first demonstration of a photorewritable phenomenon at room temperature in a metal oxide. -Ti3O5 satisfies the operation conditions required for a practical optical storage system (operational temperature, writing data by short wavelength light and the appropriate threshold laser power)."

One thing missing though:

[Hurricane78]

The point.

Why again do we need another slow optical disc medium? The times of those are clearly over.
Until that thing comes out, USB sticks are going to be 25 TB too. And much smaller. And not prone to scratching, sunlight, bending, dust, etc. And for everything else there is HDDs/SSDs.