Microsoft’s new 10,000-year data storage medium: glass

Microsoft Research has published in Nature the results of Project Silica, a working glass-based archival storage system capable of storing data at over 1 Gigabit per cubic millimeter. The approach uses femtosecond lasers—emitting pulses lasting 10⁻¹⁵ seconds at millions per second—to etch data into small glass slabs. Glass is highlighted as an ideal archival medium due to its thermal and chemical stability, resistance to moisture and electromagnetic interference, and its passive nature (no energy needed when idle). The project addresses long-standing challenges in archival storage around density, longevity, and write speed.