A new polymer material has emerged as a promising candidate for high-density data storage, offering an efficient and sustainable alternative to traditional storage technologies like hard disk drives, solid-state drives, and flash memory. This innovative material can be erased and recycled with ease, meaning that it has huge potential for use in future data storage solutions.
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The low-cost polymer encodes data in the form of tiny "dents," creating nanoscale patterns that allow for significantly greater storage capacity compared to conventional hard disk drives. Developed by the Chalker Lab at Flinders University, this polymer can have its stored information erased within seconds using short bursts of heat, enabling multiple cycles of reuse.
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.
Abigail Mann, Study First Author and PhD Candidate, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University
Made from inexpensive materials like sulfur and dicyclopentadiene, the polymer’s unique properties were explored using tools like atomic force microscopes and scanning probe instruments. Professor Justin Chalker, senior author of the study, sees this breakthrough as part of a broader trend in developing next-generation polymers.
The age of big data and artificial intelligence is increasingly driving demand for data storage solutions. New solutions are needed for the ever-growing computing and data storage needs of the information era. Alternatives are being sought to hard disk drives, solid-state drives, and flash memory which are constrained by data density limits – or the amount of information they can store in a particular area or volume.
Justin Chalker, Study Senior Author and Professor, Flinders University
The research team’s method has already achieved storage densities that surpass typical hard drives. Importantly, the process supports repeated cycles of data writing, reading, and erasing—key features for modern data storage applications.
The idea of using surface indentations to store data isn’t entirely new. Tech giants like IBM, LG Electronics, and Intel have explored this approach before. However, challenges such as high energy demands, material costs, and system complexities have hindered its commercial use.
What makes the Flinders polymer different is its dual structure. According to senior researchers Dr. Pankaj Sharma and Dr. Christopher Gibson, the polymer’s physical design allows it to encode data mechanically, while its chemical makeup enables the rapid erasure of data using heat.
The low cost of the building blocks (sulfur and dicyclopentadiene) are an attractive feature that can support future development of the polymer in data storage applications.
Samuel Tonkin, PhD Candidate, Flinders University
Journal Reference:
Mann, A. K., et. al. (2024) Probe-Based Mechanical Data Storage on Polymers Made by Inverse Vulcanization. Advanced Science. doi.org/10.1002/advs.202409438.