The 10,000-year hard drive: Microsoft’s new breakthrough uses glass to store data forever

Traditional storage devices, like hard drives, magnetic tapes, and even solid-state drives, don’t last forever. Over time, they degrade. This process, sometimes referred to as data rot, means information must be copied and transferred every few years to avoid permanent loss.

Richard Black, research director at Project Silica, told CNET that today’s biggest storage challenge is durability. Media wears out, systems become obsolete, and constant maintenance is required. Glass, he argues, doesn’t face the same problem.

“Glass doesn’t degrade in the way traditional storage does,” he said, adding that the team’s work shows long-term digital storage is practical, not just experimental.

Writing data with lasers

The process sounds like something out of science fiction. Researchers use femtosecond laser devices that fire pulses lasting one quadrillionth of a second to write information inside glass. These lasers are precise enough to modify the material’s interior without damaging its surface. They are commonly used in delicate procedures such as eye surgery.

Instead of storing data as flat bits, the laser creates tiny 3D structures known as voxels inside the glass. Think of them as three-dimensional pixels. These microscopic changes represent digital information embedded deep within the material.

A recent research paper published in Nature outlines a key advance: the use of “phase voxels” in a more affordable material. Early experiments relied on expensive fused silica glass. Now, the team has shifted to borosilicate glass, the same durable material commonly found in kitchen cookware, significantly cutting costs.

How data is retrieved

Storing information is only half the challenge. To read it back, Project Silica uses automated archives. Robotic systems retrieve pieces of glass, and a neural network scans and decodes the patterns written inside. The system does not require ongoing power to preserve the data only when accessing it.

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Microsoft has already tested the concept. In 2019, the team successfully stored the 1978 “Superman” film inside a small piece of glass. The technology is also being used in Norway’s Svalbard region for the Global Music Vault, a project designed to preserve music recordings for the future.

Glass is highly resistant to heat, humidity, electromagnetic interference and even physical damage. Because it does not require frequent replacement, researchers say it could be more sustainable over the long term than current storage systems.

If developed on a commercial scale, this laser-engraved glass could revolutionise the way governments, institutions, and corporations store important documents. In an era when digital information has come to define history, science, and culture, the challenge of protecting it for thousands of years may no longer be a concept but a reality.