Research by Dr Olof Johansson which has recently been published in Nature Chemistry has potential to boost the storage capacities and processing speeds of hard drives.
The group's research suggests single-molecule magnets could be used to store data, with lasers used to both store and access the data. This process could allow data to be processed and accessed up to 100 times faster than with current technologies.
The new material could allow data storage to become more efficient as the laser-based system does not generate as much heat as current storage mechanisms.
