Futurology

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Scientists have discovered a way to use single missing atoms in crystals as memory cells, packing terabytes of data into a millimeter-sized cube. (scitechdaily.com)

submitted 2 days ago by RewindAgain to c/futurology

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[–] A_A@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago

Not before 10 years in my opinion :

(...) “When the crystal absorbs sufficient energy, it releases electrons and holes. And these charges are captured by the defects,” França said. “We can read that information. You can release the electrons, and we can read the information by optical means.” (...)

(...) Unlike dosimeters, which are typically activated by X-rays or gamma rays, the storage device is activated by a simple ultraviolet laser. The laser stimulates the lanthanides, which in turn release electrons. The electrons are trapped by some of the oxide crystal’s defects, for instance, the individual gaps in the structure where a single oxygen atom should be, but isn’t. (...)