A separate advance with in data encoding could triple storage to 2.1 Petabytes in a single optical disk.

Researchers at USST, RMIT and NUS have overcome the optical diffraction limit by using earth-rich lanthanide-doped upconversion nanoparticles and graphene oxide flakes. This unique material platform enables low-power optical writing nanoscale information bits.

The higher density system will use inexpensive continuous-wave lasers. This will have lower operating costs compared to traditional optical writing techniques using expensive and bulky pulsed lasers.

Next generation of high-capacity optical data storage technology will also enable the development of energy-efficient nanofabrication of flexible graphene based electronics.