Electronic quantum holography

Electronic quantum holography (also known as quantum holographic data storage) is an information storage technology which can encode and read out data at unprecedented density storing as much as 35 bits per electron.[1]

Research

In 2009, Stanford University's Department of Physics set a new world record for the smallest writing using a scanning tunneling microscope and electron waves to write the initials "SU" at 0.3 nanometers, surpassing the previous record set by IBM in 1989 using xenon atoms. This achievement also set a record for the density of information. Before this technology was invented the density of information had not exceeded one bit per atom. Researchers of electronic quantum holography however were able to push the limit to 35 bits per electron or 20 bits nm−2.[2]

Technology

A copper chip is placed in a microscope and cleaned. Carbon monoxide molecules are then placed on the surface and moved around. When the electrons in copper interact with the carbon monoxide molecules, they create interference patterns that create an electronic quantum hologram. This hologram can be read like a stack of pages in a book,[3] and can contain multiple images at different wavelengths.[4]

References

  1. ^ "Sub-atomic-scale Writing Using a Quantum Hologram Sets New Size Record". SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. January 28, 2009. Archived from the original on 2019-06-11. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
  2. ^ Manoharan, Hari C.; Zeltzer, Gabriel; Foster, Brian K.; Mattos, Laila S.; Moon, Christopher R. (March 2009). "Quantum holographic encoding in a two-dimensional electron gas". Nature Nanotechnology. 4 (3): 167–172. doi:10.1038/nnano.2008.415. ISSN 1748-3395. OSTI 979946. PMID 19265846. S2CID 2057476.
  3. ^ "Manoharan Lab | Press". mota.stanford.edu. Archived from the original on 2022-05-25. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
  4. ^ "Sub-atomic-scale Writing Using a Quantum Hologram Sets New Size Record----National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, China". english.nanoctr.cas.cn. Retrieved 2019-05-13.