IBM Researchers Stumble onto Quantum Storage Possibility

By Greg McNevin

September 3, 2007: IBM has taken a quantum leap forward when it comes to data storage, announcing that its researchers have discovered how to construct storage devices out of almost atom-sized components.

The company says its team stumbled upon a “proto-method” to store information on single atoms that it claims will revolutionise the way we think about computers or storage devices today.

Detailed in the journal Science, IBM scientists report that they have made major progress in probing a property called “magnetic anisotropy” in individual atoms. They claim that this fundamental measurement has important technological consequences because it determines an atom’s ability to store information. 

IBM’s team believe that it could be possible to build structures consisting of small clusters of atoms, or even individual atoms, that could reliably store magnetic information. This would then enable incredible amounts of data to be archived, enabling almost 30,000 feature length movies or more than 1,000 trillion bits of data to fit in a device the size of an iPod. 

Next to this, IBM’s researchers also unveiled the first single-molecule switch that can operate flawlessly without disrupting the molecule's outer frame. This marks another significant step toward building computing elements at the molecular scale that are vastly smaller, faster and use less energy than today's computer chips and memory devices.

IBM claims these breakthroughs will enable scientists to continue driving the field of nanotechnology to new and exciting areas.

“One of the beauties of doing exploratory science is that by researching one area, you sometimes stumble upon other areas of major significance,” said Gerhard Meyer, senior researcher in the nanoscale science group at the IBM Zurich lab. “Although the discovery of this breakthrough was accidental, it may prove to be significant for building the computers of the future.”

Of course, IBM is quick to point out that there is a long, long way to go before the benefits of this breakthrough appear on the market any significant form. Still, the discovery offers a glimpse into the future of data storage, and at the rate we’re filling up archives the mind-blowing capacity it offers will be very welcome indeed.

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