UM prof able to shrink lightwaves, could increase CD storage by 100x

Roberto Merlin, a physics professor at University of Michigan, has developed a formula that will remove wavelength limitations that currently restrict the amount of data that can be stored on CDs. He is now working to build the device that will carry out the task.

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Merlin is now working with assistant professor Anthony Grbic from the UM College of Engineering to build the device, and they have filed for a patent. His research on the discovery will be published online July 12 in Science Express.

The discovery holds promise for applications in data storage, non-contact sensing, imaging, and nanolithography. With the new technology, a CD could hold up to one hundred times more information by using terahertz radiation rather than visible light, even though the length of a terahertz wave is about 1000 times longer.

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