By Aswin Alexander John

Contents
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Introduction. What is Holographic memory? What is HVD? Structure of HVD. How HVD Works? I. Writing Data II. Reading Data 6. Advantages of HVD 7. Limitations AND Challenges 8. How HVD compares with other storage device? 9. Conclusion

Introduction
A hologram is a 3D image reproduced form a pattern of

interference.
The Holography technique was invented in 1948 by the

Hungarian Dennis Gabor.

It can store up to 1-4 TB of information in a sugar

cube sized crystal.

It promises to be the data storing system of the future.

Hence holographic storage system has the potential to became the next storage generation over conventional storage system.

What is Holographic Memory?

Holographic memory is a three-dimensional data storage

system that can store information at high density inside the crystal or photopolymer.
It is a memory that can store information in the form of

holographic image (hologram)

Like other media, holographic media is divided into write

once (where the storage medium undergoes some irreversible change), and rewritable media (where the change is reversible).

Holographic Versatile Disc

These discs have the capacity to hold up to 3.9 terabyte (TB) of information, which is approximately 6,000 times the capacity of a CDROM, 830 times the capacity of a DVD, 160 times the capacity of single-layer Blu-ray-Discs, and about 8 times the capacity of standard computer hard drives as of 2007.

The HVD also has a transfer rate of 1gigabyte/s

COMPONENTS
Most holographic storage systems contain some

components basic to the setup. These are :a) Laser Beam b) Beam Splitters to split the Laser Beam c) Mirrors to direct the Laser Beam d) A liquid crystal Display panel(SLM) e) Lenses to focus the Laser Beam f) Recording Material g) CCD cameras
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Holographic Versatile Disc structure

1.
2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

9.

Green writing/reading laser (532 nm) Red positioning/addressing laser (650 nm) Hologram (data) Polycarbon layer Photo polymeric layer (datacontaining layer) Distance layers Dichroic layer (reflecting green light) Aluminum reflective layer (reflecting red light) Transparent base

The HVD System: Writing Data

When the blue-argon laser is focused ,a beam splitter

splits it into two beams a reference beam and a signal beam .

The signal beam passes through a SLM where digital

information, organized in a page like format of ones and zeroes, is modulated onto the signal beam as a two dimensional pattern of brightness and darkness . that is created stores the data that is carried by the signal beam on to the surface of the holographic material as a hologram.

When the two beams meet, the interference pattern

The HVD System: Writing Data

The HVD System: Reading Data

In order to retrieve and reconstruct the holographic page of data stored in the crystal, the reference beam is shined into the crystal at exactly the same angle at which it entered to store that page of data.

Technology Comparison
1 Bit Data Page Data

~1m

Substrate Surface Recording Layer

Volumetric Recording Layer

Data are recorded on to the surface as bit by bit in CD/DVD System

Page data are recorded into the volumetric recording layer in Holographic recording

Conventional Optical Disc

HVD

TM

HVD Compares With Other Storage Device

Blu-ray
Initial cost for recordable Approx. $18 disc Initial cost for Approx. recorder/playe $2,000 r Initial storage capacity Read/write speed 54 GB

HD-DVD
Approx. $10

HVD
Approx. $120

Approx. $2,000

Approx. $3,000

30 GB

300 GB (max 3.9 TB)

36.5 Mbps

36.5 Mbps

1 Gbps

Capacity:700 mb

Capacity:4.7Gb

Capacity: 30-50Gb Capacity:1-4TB

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ADVANTAGES

Resistance to damage - If some parts of the medium are damaged, all information can still be obtained from other parts. Efficient retrieval - All information can be retrieved from any part of the medium. Fault and Damage Tolerance.

The HVD also has a transfer rate of 1 gigabit/s.

While reading a page the entire page of data can be retrieved quickly and at one time .
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LIMITATIONS AND CHALLENGES

It is very difficult to arrange all of those components like CCD camera , SLM arrays and beam steering devices.
Needs good recordings sensitive material to allow high data transfer rate.

If too many pages are stored in one crystal, the strength of each hologram gets diminished.
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APPLICATIONS
A) Petaflop Computing B) Data Mining C) Future Computing System

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CONCLUSION

The future of holographic memory is very promising. The

holographic storage provide high data density. It can easily store 1000GB of data in a small cubic centimeter crystal reducing the cost on the other hand. It may offer high data transfer rate.

But even then the holographic way of storing data is still at

the base stage and it may take another couple of years for this technique to hit desktop with a real life data storage solution. up the desktop Experienences.

However this technology itself is dazzling and aims to light

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REFERENCE
Psaltis, D. Mok, F. Holographic memories. Scientific

American Encyclopedia of Optical Engineering

www.ibm.com - IBM Research Press Resources

Holographic Storage
www.howstuffworks.com www.hvd-forum.org
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