March 19, 2025

Freddy Buncay

12th Grade

St. Francis Preparatory High School

Setting the world record for being the most durable data storage material, 5D memory crystals are known as the “everlasting” memory crystal. Made from quartz glass, 5D memory crystals can withstand temperatures as high as 1000°C. The crystal is unaffected by long exposure to cosmic radiation and it can survive a force of up to 10 tons per cm2. Developed by the University of Southampton’s Optoelectronics Research Centre, the 5D memory crystals can store up to 360 terabytes of information. 

Professor Peter Kazansky and his team at Southampton, use ultra-fast lasers to precisely inscribe data into nanostructured voids orientated within silica. This method of encoding uses two optical dimensions and three spatial coordinates to write throughout the material. The crystal material can be stored for many billions of years which makes it one of the most reliable information storage systems in the world. Due to how durable it is, the 5D crystal will outlast humans and other species.

Professor Kazansky and his team created a 5D memory crystal that contained the full human genome. This was done with the help of 2-bit writing, by encoding the bases using four orientations of the nanostructure. 4-bit writing was used for instructions on what is written and how the data is read. Professor Kazansky has his own DNA stored within the 5D crystal. The crystal is stored in Austria, in the Memory of Mankind archive. Here, there are other important holders of information about Humanity. This information is preserved for future generations. The 5D crystal will help resurrect humanity, in case of its destruction. 

The team believes that the crystal will be used by an intelligence in the far future. Professor Kazansky says that the visual key on the crystal will tell those that retrieve it, what information is stored inside and how to use it. This key shows the four bases of the DNA molecule with their molecular structure, the universal elements, and how genes position into a chromosome. 

With the huge amount of potential that the crystal contains, it could also be used to create a lasting amount of the genomes of endangered plant and animal species faced with extinction.