New data storage method optimized

Increasingly more memory on increasingly smaller surfaces; the storage capacity on mobile equipment is improving every day. Johan Engelen from the MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology of the University of Twente (The Netherlands) optimized a new storage technique by adding another motor. The storage method is now ten times more energy-efficient than the old technique. He will receive a PhD from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science on 14 January.The memory capacity in telephones has grown considerably over the past few years; increasingly more memory on increasingly smaller surfaces. External hard disks and USB sticks are also getting smaller while offering more storage capacity. According to researcher Johan Engelen from the University of Twente, infinite storage capacity for applications is just around the corner. "The data storage capacities need to catch up, and we need to develop new techniques," explains Engelen. Engelen studied one of the new storage techniques, which he optimized by adding another motor, enabling it to use ten times less energy. At the moment, flash memory is the golden standard for data storage. It is used in telephones and mobile devices, such as USB sticks. "Flash memory works with threads criss-crossing over each other to form a mesh, with a bit at every crossroads. The more bits, the larger the memory," explains Engelen. .