Chinese reveals molecular HDD technology with embedded encryption and capacity greater than 100tb

China researchers have announced an innovative molecular storage technology that can allow hard drives (HDDs) of high density, overcoming 100TB mark.

The solution uses organic molecules to store and encrypt data efficiently, reducing energy consumption compared to traditional methods. However, technical challenges still need to be overcome to enable their commercial adoption.

How does molecular HDD work?

Unlike conventional hard drives, which depend on magnetic materials to store data, the new methodology studied uses molecules that change their electrical properties when subjected to specific voltages.

For example, the researchers employed a monocamada of 200 self-organized RU LPH moleculeswhere Ruthenium ions alternate between oxidation and load accumulation states.

Such mechanism allows up to 96 states of conductance per storage unit, Something very similar to the functioning of Multicamada Nand Memories.

Reading and recording the data are performed through a Driving Atomic Force Microscope (C-AFM)whose 25nm sensor applies small electrical tensions to manipulate molecular states.

Thus, the approach makes it possible to store information on an extremely reduced scale, reaching similar densities for emerging technologies-based HDDs such as Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR) and Bit-Patterned Media (BPM), which are expected to hit the market in the next decade.

Integrated encryption and logical operations

In addition to the high storage density, molecular HDD has an important differential: the ability to perform logical operations directly in storagecomo AND, OR e XOR.

This makes it possible to encrypt molecular information, increasing data security without external processors. The researchers demonstrated this functionality by coding images of mogao caves, applying logical transformations to protect and recover data.

If this technology reaches maturity, it can rival advanced storage solutions, such as memory crystals that promise to keep Terabytes in tiny spaces, dramatically reducing energy consumption

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Technical challenges and commercial viability

Despite the revolutionary potential, technology still faces a major obstacle: The durability of the atomic force microscope tips.

These sensors, fundamental to reading and recording data, have limited life between 50 and 200 hours in intermittent use, e Only 5 to 50 hours in continuous operation. Therefore, the limitation makes it impossible for large scale applications unless new resistant materials are developed.

Meanwhile, traditional storage companies are still betting on more consolidated technologies. Western Digital, for example, already projects conventional 100TB HDDs for the coming years, while Sandisk works on 1petabyte SSDs with Ultraqlc technology.

Although molecular HDD has innovative characteristics, its adoption will depend on significant advances in the durability of sensors and the development of viable manufacturing processes. But if these challenges are overcome, technology can redefine the future of data storage forever.

Fonte: Nature