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Introduction

The history of information technology has been a history of miniaturization of ‘bits,’ i.e. a tendency towards supplying data storage systems based on ultrahigh-density information carriers with long-term stability, this storage capacity having become equivalent to the information in large libraries. Optical data storage is very convenient for use due to storage media being removable. Readonly memory (ROM) is a read-only optical data storage medium, where the data are recorded during the manufacture of the disks. ROM systems detect the stored data by sensing changes in the intensity or polarization of a reflected laser beam as the focused spot scans along a data track. In the form of the compact disk (CD), this optical data storage medium is used widely for music distribution and for computer software (CD-ROM). In this case the data readout procedure retrieves data by sensing changes in reflectivity of the patterned, metallized film deposited on a plastic substrate. The digital video disk (DVD) standard offers higher area density per layer, and as many as four layers of recorded information with sufficient read-out bandwidth and  capacity for distribution of several hours’worth of high-quality compressed video. Blue-ray technology pushes this idea even further to its limits. So, what is next?

X-ROM Technology

Our team of dedicated researchers believes that we have found the solution to the ever-growing information storing problem in the newly developed x-ray-based ultrahigh-density optical memory dubbed “X-ROM.”

The proposed “X-ROM” is radically new x-ray-based optical data storage technology that allows storing data on terabyte scales. Digital data reading procedure from such ultrahigh-density x-ray optical data storage media is performed via grazing-angle incident x-ray micro beam. The system detects data by measuring the variations in the x-ray micro beam intensity reflected from the various surface points of the data storage media. The Grazing-angle incident x-ray configuration allows the simultaneous handling of digital data from very large area, which is limited only by the hard x-ray receiving surface of the charge coupled device (or “CCD” camera), and, consequently, the data read-out speed is much faster, in principle, than the data read-out speed of modern optical data read-out systems.

Set-up diagram of the grazing-angle incidence hard-x-ray nanoscope (or GIXN). Due to GIXN application it is possible to increase the resolution of digital data read-out device up to two orders.

Why X-Rays?

The x-ray diffraction methods are non-destructive in nature when compared to the other local probing approaches, such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and more recently developed scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), which makes them ideal for probing the underlying medium for information. Moreover, x-rays do not typically require vacuum conditions which are hard to achieve in practical applications. Various x-ray scattering and diffraction techniques can provide complementary information about the internal structure of materials and the shape, size, deformation and composition of quantum structures. With the development of scattering theory for rough interfaces in multilayers, the grazing-angle x-ray scattering method has become a powerful non-destructive technique for probing buried interface structures with atomic resolution. The silicon high-quality crystalline layers and SiGe alloys are promising materials for realizing quantum dot structures for x-ray terabyte storage applications, since they can readily be implemented within existing Si technology. In the general case the procedure of digital data read-out from the X-ROM can be performed by using the principles of x-ray optics, and in particular, the principles of x-ray diffraction.

Prospects and Applications

As you can seen, X-ROM is a new, promising technology, the implications of which are farreaching, and applications are wide-scale. Some of the typical usages of X-ROM data storage include storing and quick access to the vast amounts of archived digital content at the organizations that constantly handle such volumes of information, such as libraries, military and governmental institutions, scientific-research organizations, banks, search engines and data mining companies, etc. The applications of large data storage with fast access speeds are practically unlimited in today information-driven world.

We are extremely dedicated to bringing this and related technologies to the wider audience and to the market at large, however to implement it on industrial scale significant investment of time, equipment and human resources are necessary. Since we are a small team, our resources are limited in achieving this goal. If you are someone who is interested or representing a company or organization interested in joint projects or collaboration towards advancing this technology, or simply an entrepreneur willing to invest in a promising idea, we invite you to join our team and become a part of history.