University of Central Florida Chemistry Professor Kevin D. Belfield and his team have developed a new technology allowing users to store as much as 1 terabyte (approx. 500 movies) onto a single disc. So much for those Hitachi-Maxwell 300GB CDs.

It is Belfield’s ‘Two-Photon 3-D Optical Data Storage’ system which makes this great feat possible. The team used lasers to compact large amounts of data onto a DVD while maintaining excellent quality. The data is stored permanently without the possibility of damage.

The challenge scientists faced for years was that light is also used to read the information. The light couldn’t distinguish between reading and writing, so it would destroy the recorded information. Belfield’s team developed a way to use light tuned to specific colors or wavelengths to allow information that a user wants to keep to stay intact.

University of Central Florida Chemistry Professor Kevin D. Belfield and his team have developed a new technology allowing users to store as much as 1 terabyte (approx. 500 movies) onto a single disc. So much for those Hitachi-Maxwell 300GB CDs.

It is Belfield’s ‘Two-Photon 3-D Optical Data Storage’ system which makes this great feat possible. The team used lasers to compact large amounts of data onto a DVD while maintaining excellent quality. The data is stored permanently without the possibility of damage.

The challenge scientists faced for years was that light is also used to read the information. The light couldn’t distinguish between reading and writing, so it would destroy the recorded information. Belfield’s team developed a way to use light tuned to specific colors or wavelengths to allow information that a user wants to keep to stay intact.