A team of researchers from the Kavli Institute of Nanoscience at Delft University has developed the smallest hard disk to date that stored information atom by atom. The breakthrough is believed to have reduced the storage limit to the ultimate limit possible.
Millions of gigabyte worth of data are produced every day. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the data occupies minimum space as possible so that all of the generated information can be stored. The recent development of world's smallest hard disk has enabled researchers to move a step closer to achieving that possibility.
During the study, the researchers stored one kilobyte or 8,000 bits of data by representing each bit by the position of a single chlorine atom. Theoretically, this would allow the data of all books written by humans till date to be printed on a single post stamp. The research team successfully reached the storage density of 500 Terabits per square inch (Tbpsi), which is more than 500 times better than the hard disk available today.
The team made use of a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) to come up with the new hard disk. This device makes use of a needle to investigate the atoms on the surface of an object one by one. The same probes can even be used to push the atoms, according to the scientists.
According to lead scientist Sander Otte, the probe is similar to a sliding puzzle. The scientist further explained that each bit contains two positions on the surface of a Copper atom and a chlorine atom that can move back on forth in the two positions. When the chlorine is at the top position, there is a hole beneath it. Otte believes that this method with holes is more stable than the system that has loose atoms and it, therefore, more reliable for data storage.
The complete details of the study have been published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.
