New research has suggested that cobalt-palladium nanodots could provide the answer to the growing problem of data storage.

As technology develops at an increasing pace, the need for smaller storage facilities to contain large amounts of data is becoming a major barrier to the future of technology development.

However, researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the US have discovered that magnetic nanodots made from cobalt and palladium could provide storage facilities at least 100 times larger than today's hard disks.

The tiny creations - which are just a few billionths of a metre across - consist of a multilayer film of alternating layers of cobalt and palladium, set on a silicon wafer.

Scientists at Nist have now created nanodot arrangements that respond to magnetic fields with record levels of uniformity, providing great hope for those who see the technology as providing the answer to improved storage facilities in computers.

Ÿ Adfero Ltd