Dinky dent technique promises data storage gains

The polymer is made from low-cost materials including sulphur and dicyclopentadiene using a process called inverse vulcanisation. Data indentations are made and read at the nanometre scale using an atomic force microscope and a scanning probe instrument. Precise control over the depth of indents delivers a four-fold increase in data density compared to simple binary coding.

Short bursts of heat can then be used to wipe data and return the material to a writable state. According to the Flinders team, the new material could provide a sustainable alternative to hard disk drives, solid-state drives and flash memory in future. The work is published in Advanced Science.

“This research unlocks the potential for using simple, renewable polysulfides in probe-based mechanical data storage, offering a potential lower-energy, higher density and more sustainable alternative to current technologies,” said first author and PhD candidate Abigail Mann, from Flinders’ College of Science and Engineering.