Researchers develop 500GB DVD

Link: Researchers develop 500GB DVD
Filed under: Technology News

A partnership between the University of Berlin, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, and Universita Politecnica delle Marche in Italy, has developed a technique to store 500GB of data on an HD DVD or Blu-ray disc.

Researchers collaborated on the ‘Microholas project’ to develop a microholographic recording technique.

The technique uses nanostructures inside the disk to increase storage capacity. This differs significantly from traditional optical storage systems which use nanostructures on the surface of the disk.

Current technology does not come anywhere near the 500GB storage provided by the new technique. A single layer Blu-ray high-def disc has a storage capacity of 25GB, while this doubles to 50GB for a dual-layer disc.

The new technique applies wavelength multiplexing techniques to multi-layer disc structures. The 500GB prototype has 50 data-storage layers.

It is likely that the technology would be used for secure long-term storage solutions.