3D optical data storage is an innovation which has the potential to provide TBs of data on a DVD sized disk. This is a form of optical data storage in which information is stored or read 01' the medium in a 3D resolution as compared to the 2D manner on the conventional CD/DVDs.

Colossal Storage is developing a rewritable 3-D volume holographic removable disk media. The nanotechnology under development at Colossal is a possible replacement for today's magnetic disk drives and memory chips. Unlike magnetic media, which only stores data on the surface of the disk drive, holographic optical disk drives use two or more laser beams that work with one another to read and write data throughout the disk media. Advantages include 100+ TB capacities, near zero read and write response times and 100-plus year lifespan.

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Unlike AFM (Atomic force microscope)-based storage nanotechnologies, which require two dissimilar materials to come into contact with each other and create friction and shorten a disk media's lifespan, holographic storage has noncontact surfaces, so it has a higher degree of reliability. Therefore users will have to invest in a disk media once and won't be forced into continually reinvest in new storage technologies.