100?Layer Error?Free 5D Optical Data Storage by Ultrafast Laser Nanostructuring in Glass

The demand for energy efficient data storage technologies with high capacity and long life span is increasingly growing due to the explosion of digital information in modern society. Here, a 5D optical ultralong lifetime realized by femtosecond-laser-induced anisotropic nanopore structures (type X modification) silica glass. ultrahigh transmission this birefringent modification, >99% visible range, allows recording retrieving thousands layers multibit practically. Type formation associated moderate free carrier density produced close threshold avalanche ionization. Higher retardance increased repetition rate at low pulse attributed accumulation defects (nonbridging oxygen hole centers), enabling rapid imprinting voxels megahertz-rate pulses. Data 7 bits per voxel, i.e., 25 azimuth angles 22 levels experimentally demonstrated readout error as small 0.6%. Furthermore, “The Hitchhiker's Guide Galaxy” Douglas Adams optically recorded writing speed 8 kB s?1 100 proven accuracy 100%.