Data stored in glass could last over 10,000 years, Microsoft says

"New research published on Wednesday suggests that a borosilicate glass plate 120mm square and just 2mm thick can store 4.8TB of data across 301 layers with accelerated aging tests, indicating that the data would remain intact for at least 10,000 years. "Glass is a permanent data storage material that is resistant to water, heat, and dust," Microsoft researchers wrote in a paper published in the science and technology journal, Nature."

""We have unlocked the science for parallel high-speed writing and developed a technique to permit accelerated aging tests on the written glass, suggesting that the data should remain intact for at least 10,000 years.""

Borosilicate glass plates 120mm square and 2mm thick can store 4.8TB across 301 layers using femtosecond laser encoding. Accelerated aging tests indicate written data should remain intact for at least 10,000 years. The method achieves parallel high-speed writing and permits accelerated aging validation. Borosilicate replaces fused silica, reducing material costs and broadening manufacturability because borosilicate is widely produced. The approach yields archival durability resistant to water, heat, and dust. The capacity and longevity potential position glass as a prospective long-term archival medium beyond the multi-decade limits of magnetic tape.

Read at Computerworld