Computer data storage or digital data storage is a technology consisting of computer components and recording media that are used to retain digital data. It is a core function and fundamental component of computers.
An optical disc is a flat, usually disc-shaped object that stores information in the form of physical variations on its surface that can be read with the aid of a beam of light. Optical discs can be reflective, where the light source and detector are on the same side of the disc, or transmissive, where light shines through the disc to be detected on the other side.
Cathodoluminescence is an optical and electromagnetic phenomenon in which electrons impacting on a luminescent material such as a phosphor, cause the emission of photons which may have wavelengths in the visible spectrum. A familiar example is the generation of light by an electron beam scanning the phosphor-coated inner surface of the screen of a television that uses a cathode-ray tube. Cathodoluminescence is the inverse of the photoelectric effect, in which electron emission is induced by irradiation with photons.
Non-volatile memory (NVM) or non-volatile storage is a type of computer memory that can retain stored information even after power is removed. In contrast, volatile memory needs constant power in order to retain data.
The Holographic Versatile Disc (HVD) is an optical disc technology that was expected to store up to several terabytes of data on an optical disc 10 cm or 12 cm in diameter. Its development commenced in April 2004. The technology was abandoned due to funding issues. One of the responsible companies went bankrupt in 2010.
Electrochromism is a phenomenon in which a material displays changes in color or opacity in response to an electrical stimulus. In this way, a smart window made of an electrochromic material can block specific wavelengths of ultraviolet, visible or (near) infrared light. The ability to control the transmittance of near-infrared light can increase the energy efficiency of a building, reducing the amount of energy needed to cool during summer and heat during winter.
Optical storage refers to a class of data storage systems that use light to read or write data to an underlying optical media. Although a number of optical formats have been used over time, the most common examples are optical disks like the compact disc (CD) and DVD. Reading and writing methods have also varied over time, but most modern systems as of 2023 use lasers as the light source and use it both for reading and writing to the discs. Britannica notes that it "uses low-power laser beams to record and retrieve digital (binary) data."
Optical disc authoring requires a number of different optical disc recorder technologies working in tandem, from the optical disc media to the firmware to the control electronics of the optical disc drive.
Holographic data storage is a potential technology in the area of high-capacity data storage. While magnetic and optical data storage devices rely on individual bits being stored as distinct magnetic or optical changes on the surface of the recording medium, holographic data storage records information throughout the volume of the medium and is capable of recording multiple images in the same area utilizing light at different angles. they exist now in 2025
Tantalum nitride (TaN) is a chemical compound, a nitride of tantalum. There are multiple phases of compounds, stoichimetrically from Ta2N to Ta3N5, including TaN.
Squaraine dyes are a class of organic dyes showing intense fluorescence, typically in the red and near infrared region. They are characterized by their unique aromatic four membered ring system derived from squaric acid. Most squaraines are encumbered by nucleophilic attack of the central four membered ring, which is highly electron deficient. This encumbrance can be attenuated by the formation of a rotaxane around the dye to protect it from nucleophiles. They are currently used as sensors for ions and have recently, with the advent of protected squaraine derivatives, been exploited in biomedical imaging.
Hitachi-LG Data Storage, a joint venture between Hitachi, Ltd. and LG Electronics, is a manufacturer of DVD and Blu-ray optical disc drives for desktop computers and laptops. Founded in late 2000, the company began operation in January 2001. In 2006, HLDS began developing Blu-ray Disc drives. The company claims that it has led the disk drive industry in market share since its founding, with a 20% share for fiscal year 2001, 29% for fiscal year 2012, and 60% for fiscal year 2016. Building upon its core optical technology and extensive experience in production management, the company is currently expanding its product lineup to include interactive digital signage, TOF 3D sensors, unmanned store solutions, and in-vehicle air purifiers.
The Stacked Volumetric Optical Disc is an optical disc format developed by Hitachi Maxell, which uses an array of wafer-thin optical discs to allow data storage.
3D optical data storage is any form of optical data storage in which information can be recorded or read with three-dimensional resolution.
In the history of optical storage media there have been and there are different optical disc formats with different data writing/reading speeds.
Tuviah Ehud Schlesinger is an American engineer and physicist and since January 2014 has served as the Benjamin T. Rome Dean of the Whiting School of Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. Previously he was the David Edward Schramm Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University's college of engineering, where he was also department head of electrical and computer engineering (2005-2013). At Carnegie Mellon he served as the director of the DARPA Center for MEMS Instrumented Self-Configuring Integrated Circuits (MISCIC), was the founding director of the General Motors Collaborative Research Lab, was associate head of ECE (1996-2003), and was the director of the Data Storage Systems Center (2004-2005).
Tantalum(V) ethoxide is a metalorganic compound with formula Ta2(OC2H5)10, often abbreviated as Ta2(OEt)10. It is a colorless solid that dissolves in some organic solvents but hydrolyzes readily. It is used to prepare films of tantalum(V) oxide.
Sodium bismuth titanate or bismuth sodium titanium oxide (NBT or BNT) is a solid inorganic compound of sodium, bismuth, titanium and oxygen with the chemical formula of Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3 or Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3. This compound adopts the perovskite structure.
5D optical data storage is an experimental nanostructured glass for permanently recording digital data using a femtosecond laser writing process. Discs using this technology could be capable of storing up to 360 terabytes worth of data for billions of years. The concept was experimentally demonstrated in 2013. Hitachi and Microsoft have researched glass-based optical storage techniques, the latter under the name Project Silica.
Surface activated bonding (SAB) is a non-high-temperature wafer bonding technology with atomically clean and activated surfaces. Surface activation prior to bonding by using fast atom bombardment is typically employed to clean the surfaces. High-strength bonding of semiconductors, metals, and dielectrics can be obtained even at room temperature.
