Information technology abroad: Optical discs will store data for thousands of years

Start-up Milleniata and Hitachi-LG Data Storage plan to soon release a new optical disc called M-Disc.

A distinctive feature of the new disc, which, according to its creators, is compatible with conventional DVD-players, has a high durability and long term storage of information. Thus, in testing, carried out by the U.S. military (the carrier was intended for them), the discs were placed in a special chamber, where they were exposed to a temperature of 85 degrees Celsius with humidity of 85 percent and light irradiation at once in all ranges of the spectrum. The discs have gone through this three times.

As a result, M-Disc turned out the only model to fully retain data. According to the creators, the conditions proposed during the test are not the limit. Thus, their carriers are able to withstand short-term exposure to temperatures of several hundred degrees Celsius. In addition, calculations show that under normal conditions, M-Disc can be stored for thousands of years (up to 10,000 years), whereas the conventional DVDs, despite the announced term of life of 50-100 years, deteriorate after few years.

The reason for high wear resistance is the use of inorganic materials. During the recording made by a special device, grooves are burned out at the disc surface.  Under the influence of the laser, the structure of the material changes and polycrystals start to form. Since many rocks include the same compounds, the authors call their disc "stone-like".