Holographic Memory and its

potential use
A memory in which information is stored in
the

form

of

holographic

images

on

thermoplastic or other recording films.

Holographic storage is a mass storage
technology that uses three-dimensional holographic images to enable more information to be
stored in a much smaller space. The technology uses holograms which are created when a
light from a single laser beam is split into two beams; the signal beam (which carries the
data) and the reference beam. In holographic storage, at the point where the reference beam
and the data carrying signal beam intersect, the hologram is recorded in the light sensitive
storage medium.

How does Holographic Memory Work?

Like other forms of optical data
storage, holographic memory uses
lasers to encode data in the medium.
However, instead of using a series of
pits and grooves to store data, as in a
compact disc, holographic memory
is encoded as an interference pattern
between two lasers. These two lasers are referred to as a reference beam and the signal beam.
The signal beam holds the data, while the reference beam usually stays constant. Because
writing to the disc creates a hologram, a complex 3D pattern in the crystal, all it takes is

shining a reference beam at

the disc at a precise angle for
the original image to be
projected again.
Prototypes
Lucent

and

developed
IBM

by
differ

slightly, but most holographic

data storage systems (HDSS) are based on the same concept. When the blue-green argon laser
is fired, a beam splitter creates two beams. One beam, called the object or signal beam, will
go straight, bounce off one mirror and travel through a spatial-light modulator (SLM). An
SLM is a liquid crystal display (LCD) that shows pages of raw binary data as clear and dark
boxes. The information from the page of binary code is carried by the signal beam around to
the light-sensitive lithium-niobate crystal. Some systems use a photopolymer in place of the
crystal. A second beam, called the reference beam, shoots out the side of the beam splitter and
takes a separate path to the crystal. When the two beams meet, the interference pattern that is
created stores the data carried by the signal beam in a specific area in the crystal -- the data is
stored as a hologram.

Brief History of Holographic Memory

Using holograms as memory storage was first proposed by Pieter Heerden in the 1960s.
During the early 1970s, a group of scientists from TRCA laboratories succeeded in storing
500 holograms using an iron doped litium niobate crystal. Moreover, they were also able to
store five hundred fifty high-resolution hologram images using a material made up of light
sensitive polymer. The high cost of the materials needed for this type of technology as well as
the rise of magnetic and optical drives shelved the project in the end.

Now research for holographic memory systems has been reactivated since the components
needed for such a technology has become widely available and cheaper. The laser system
needed for the device to work, for instance, has
shrunk in size so it can easily fit in a
conventional CD or DVD player. Moreover,
liquid crystal displays or LCDs which were in
their infancy during the initial research done on
holographic memory systems are now more
advanced and quite a lot cheaper. The same goes for the other components such as the
"Charge-Coupled Device" or CCD.

The example of Holographic memory is HVD

(Holographic Versatile Disk). Holographic versatile disk is an optical disc technology still in
the research stage which would hold up to 3.9 terabyte of information. The blue-green laser
reads data encoded as laser interference fringes from a holographic layer near the top of the
disk while the red laser is used as the reference beam and to read servo information from a
regular CD-style aluminum layer near the bottom.

Holographic Memorys Market Situation

The biggest challenge for HVD will be in establishing itself in the commercial market, which
as of now seems to be a distant dream, given its higher cost margins. It is anticipated that a
single HVD, when commercially available, may cost anywhere between $100-120 (by 2006
year's end), and the reader will be priced anywhere in the range of $10,000 to $15,000.
However, like anything else associated with technology, the price will soon fall as R&D costs
are recouped and a competition lowers profit margins. HVD is currently in the research and
development stage with many successful prototypes been built, but the technology is still
being improved and has not yet been commercialized.