You compact discs could be history within five years and replaced by a new generation of fingertip-sized memory tabs with no moving parts. New paper-thin devices could store more than a gigabyte of information. Current CDs only hold about a half of a gigabyte. The new card is faster and easier to operate than a CD. The card would not involve any moving parts, such as the laser and motor drive required by compact discs. Experts have developed the technology by melding together organic and inorganic materials in a unique way. They say it could be used to produce a single-use memory card that permanently stores data and is faster and easier to operate than a CD. It's claimed that turning the invention into a commercially viable product might take as little as five years.
Scientific American November 13, 2003