The storage capacity of an iPod could be increased by 150,000 times with a molecule-sized switch developed by nanotechnology researchers at the University of Glasgow.

The switch enables data storage to be dramatically increased without having to make the storage device any bigger.

The work of Professor Lee Cronin and Dr Malcolm Kadodwala means 500,000 gigabytes could be squeezed onto a square inch. The current limit for the space is around 3.3 gigabytes. The researchers believe the development could see the number of transistors per chip rising from today’s limit of 200million to over one billion.

Professor Cronin explained: “What we have done is find a way to potentially increase the data storage capabilities in a radical way.

“We have been able to assemble a functional nanocluster that incorporates two electron donating groups, and position them precisely 0.32nm apart so that they can form a totally new type of modular switching device.

“This is unprecedented and provides a route to produce a new molecule-based switch that can be easily manipulated using an electric field.

“By taking these nanoscale clusters, just a nanometer in size, and placing them onto gold or carbon, we can control the switching ability. Not only is this a new type of switchable molecule, but by grafting the molecule onto metal (gold) or carbon means that we can potentially bridge the gap between traditional semiconductor devices and components for nanoscale plastic electronics.

“The key advantage of the molecule sized switch is information/transistor density in traditional semiconductors. Molecule sized switches would lead to increasing data storage to say 4 Petabits per square inch.

“This breakthrough shows conceptually that this is possible (showing the bulk effect) but we are yet to solve the fabrication and addressing problems.

“In fact these switches work on carbon means that they could be embedded in plastic chips so silicon is not needed and the system becomes much more flexible both physically and technologically.

“Since these switches are little balls of metal oxide they are made of similar stuff to normal semiconductors, but are much easier to manipulate as discrete molecular units.”