5D Optical Data Storage

Building the new data capacity layer for
the AI era.

Delivering durable 5D Optical Data Storage today, and bringing hyperscalable storage capacity to datacenters tomorrow.

Explore the storage platform Build with us

Today

5D Memory Crystal™

Ultra-durable data storage today, while advancing the technology toward data-centre deployment.

2028

FemtoEtch™ Pilot

Active and archival storage systems deployed in data-centre pilots with industry partners.

2031

FemtoEtch™ Scale

Industrial-scale storage infrastructure engineered for hyperscale AI data centres.

The Next Storage Tier

Most data does not need millisecond access.

SSDs and HDDs are built for speed. Tape is built for deep archive. Most retained data sits between those requirements. SPhotonix introduces the storage tier for that gap — combining massive capacity, practical access times and long-term durability.

5D optical encoding

High capacity volumetric recording

Low-cost media, zero power at rest and long media life are designed to reduce the cost of retaining data at scale.

Better storage economics

Improved economics

Bringing capacity, density, durability, scalability and system utilisation together to address the cost of storage.

Built with industry

Scale through the ecosystem

We combine SPhotonix optical technology with established expertise in drives, media manufacturing and automated libraries to accelerate deployment at data-centre scale.

Industrial Collaboration

Built for the existing data-centre ecosystem.

Our industrialisation strategy combines SPhotonix optical technology with established expertise in drives, media manufacturing and automated libraries. We are developing the platform for integration with the data-centre ecosystem, with system qualification and manufacturing scale-up as key milestones.

Optical modules into drives

Drive integration

Integrate SPhotonix read/write technology with drive electronics, control systems and interfaces used in data centres.

Certified glass at scale

Storage media supply

Our model combines licensed manufacturing by established glass producers with direct sales of SPhotonix storage media to customers.

Media into automated libraries

Library integration

Integrate glass media with robotic libraries for high-capacity storage, retrieval and data-centre operation.

SPhotonix optical storage platform

Recording and readout · Media requirements · Control and decoding

Explore collaboration

Engineered for the scale of the AI era.

: Data is written throughout the volume of fused silica, using multiple optical states per voxel and hundreds of layers. The architecture provides a path to up to 250 TB per platter at target density by 2031 - we are working on a 10X improvement over density demonstrated in 2026.
: Made from engineered sand — one of the world’s most abundant materials. Written once, requiring zero power at rest and designed for highly scalable media production.
: Designed for 1,000+ year retention, with no magnetic decay and no routine media migration.

Explore Data Storage

Durability

Built to outlast the data lifecycle.

Storage media has historically been treated as a consumable. Drives are replaced, tape generations are migrated and data is repeatedly copied simply to keep it alive. We changes that model. The data is physically encoded inside fused silica, creating media designed to outlast the useful life of the information it holds — removing routine migration from the storage lifecycle.

No routine media migration
No climate control required for media at rest

LONG-TERM STORAGE TEMPERATURE: −150°C to +500C*; Tape: 16°C to 25°C; HDD: 16°C to 25°C l
LONG-TERM STORAGE HUMIDITY: 0–100% RH; Tape: 20–50% RH; HDD: <40% RH
DATA RETENTION / SERVICE LIFE: 1,000+ years; Tape: Up to 30 years under controlled conditions; HDD: 5-year design service life
MAGNETIC-FIELD TOLERANCE: Non-magnetic; >10,000 G class; Tape: ≤50 G stray field; HDD: ~400 G
IONISING-RADIATION TOLERANCE: ≥500 kGy class; Tape: ~30 kGy; HDD: ~0.03–0.3 kGy electronics-limited
MECHANICAL WEAR: 0 media contact per read; Tape: 20,000 load/unload cycles; HDD: 600,000 head load/unload cycles
MEDIA MIGRATION / REPLACEMENT: No media-driven refresh cycle; Tape: Typically ~7–10 years; HDD: Typically ~3–5 years

Backed by

Leadership Team

Three decades of science. Built to ship.

SPhotonix brings together pioneers in photonics, laser processing and storage engineering to turn 30 years of 5D optical-storage research into an industrial data-storage platform.