Project Silica rival plans to launch 500GB Proof-of-concept medium in 2026 — but questions remain about speed, durability, and cost
500GB glass tablet represents the first step toward higher capacities
· TechRadarNews By Efosa Udinmwen published 29 December 2025
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- Optera uses photoluminescence instead of lasers for long-term optical storage solutions
- Spectral hole burning encodes data by manipulating nanoscale phosphor lattice imperfections
- Multi-bit encoding allows several bits to be stored per physical location on the medium
Dr Nicolas Riesen at the University of South Australia is leading the development of an optical storage archive that records data through photoluminescence instead of physical laser etching.
The technology operates at room temperature and uses relatively low-cost lasers instead of the femtosecond systems used in some competing glass-based archives.
The initial implementation of this archive is a 500GB proof-of-concept medium planned for 2026, and it represents the first step toward higher-capacity glass-based storage.
From discs to glass tablets
An earlier related technology developed by Dr Nicolas Riesen explored spectral hole–based optical storage using different nanoparticle materials.
This work provides the foundation for the current 500GB glass tablet proof of concept, showing a progression from disc-focused experiments to higher-capacity archival formats.
Optera’s goal is to deliver long-term data retention with lower energy requirements, although the project remains experimental.
The recording medium used by Optera is based on a mixed halide fluorobromide or fluorochloride phosphor doped with divalent samarium ions.
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