AT&T; Technique Could Expand Disks’ Memory

AT&T; Bell Labs researchers have demonstrated a new technique that could increase the storage capacity of computer memory disks a hundredfold, American Telephone & Telegraph Co. said Wednesday.

The technique involves magneto-optical disks, in which computer data is stored and retrieved through laser light. Use of these disks is growing, but they are not nearly as widespread as magnetic hard disks such as those found in personal computers.

The new technology could allow a computer user to store the equivalent of two copies of “War and Peace” on an area of the disk the size of a pinhead.

Bell Labs spokesman Russ Glover cautioned that the technique is experimental and it would take years to develop a commercial product that uses it.

“There are a lot of unanswered questions about this at this point,” he said.

In today’s magneto-optical disk drives, the laser light is focused with a lens. The Bell Labs technique involves concentrating the laser through a probe made from an aluminum-coated optical fiber, which is tapered to a tiny point.

“The light beam emitted at the end of the fiber is about 50 nanometers wide, and when it is positioned close to the recording medium, the fiber probe produces a light spot much smaller than can ever be achieved with a lens,” said Horst Stormer, director of Bell Labs’ physical research laboratory.