The memory crystals first depicted in the Fortress of Solitude scenes from "Superman - The Movie" have now become a reality of sorts.

Using nanostructured glass, scientists at the University of Southampton have, for the first time, experimentally demonstrated the recording and retrieval processes of five dimensional digital data by femtosecond laser writing. The storage allows unprecedented parameters including 360 TB/disc data capacity, thermal stability up to 1000°C and practically unlimited lifetime.

Coined as the 'Superman' memory crystal, the data is recorded via self-assembled nanostructures created in fused quartz, which is able to store vast quantities of data for over a million years.

The self-assembled nanostructures change the way light travels through glass, modifying polarisation of light that can then be read by combination of optical microscope and a polariser, similar to that found in Polaroid sunglasses.

"We are developing a very stable and safe form of portable memory using glass, which could be highly useful for organisations with big archives. At the moment companies have to back up their archives every five to ten years because hard-drive memory has a relatively short lifespan," says ORC researcher Jingyu Zhang.

"Museums who want to preserve information or places like the national archives where they have huge numbers of documents, would really benefit."

Professor Peter Kazansky, the ORC's group supervisor, adds: "It is thrilling to think that we have created the first document which will likely survive the human race. This technology can secure the last evidence of civilisation: all we've learnt will not be forgotten."

The team are now looking for industry partners to commercialise this ground-breaking new technology.