HOLOGRAPHIC MEMORY

Computer Storage

Mass Storage is generally defined as a means of

preserving computer generated information for
subsequent use or retrieval.
What will be the next logical step in computer storage ?

Serial Access

Random Access

? Parallel Access
Parallel Access Is The Ability To
Put Information In Any Form,
And Take It Out At The Same
Rate.
In Other Technologies, We Get
One Bit Stream At A Time.
Higher Bandwidth Is The Result.
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).
History
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.
Working Principle
In holographic data storage, an entire page of information is
stored at once as an optical interference pattern within a
thick, photosensitive optical material.
This is done by intersecting two coherent laser beams within
the storage material.
The first, called the object beam, contains the information to
be stored; the second, called the reference beam, is a
simple light wave.
When the two combine in an optical storage medium, they
change the chemical or physical construction of that
medium and so store the data.
If the storage medium is then illuminated with the reference
beam again, the object data beam is produced.
HDS Components

Laser
Spatial Light Modulator (SLM)
Multiplexing agent
Storage Medium
Charge Coupled Device (CCD)
Laser

Blue-green argon laser which is split into two beams, a

reference beam and an object beam.
The interference pattern created by these two beams forms
the hologram.
Spatial Light Modulator

SLM is a 1024 * 1024 array of light or dark squares.

This array represents the data to be stored, and is
usually implemented by a set of pixels on an LCD.
An SLM can usually be refreshed at rates of about 1000
frames per second.
Multiplexing Agent

It is used to allow the laser beam to access different

pages in the hologram.
Two types of multiplexing, shift multiplexing and angular
multiplexing
Shift Multiplexing uses a rotating disk to vary the angle
of the laser beam, and so access a different view of the
hologram.
Angular multiplexing uses mirrors to change the angle at
which the laser strikes the crystal.
Storage Medium

Two storage mediums are,

Lithium-niobate crystals

Photopolymer
Charge Coupled Device (CCD)

CCD is an array of sensors which corresponds to the

pixels on the SLM.
The CCD is used to read the interference pattern from
the reference beam, and so read the information from
the hologram.
The matrix construction of the CCD allows it to read all
1Mb of the data at once.
Typical CCD dimensions are one square centimeter,
and typical access rates are 1000 frames / second, or 1
Gigabit / second.
Recording data
Reading data
Holographic Versatile Disc

HVD is an advanced optical disk that’s presently in the

development stage.
It can transfer data at the rate of 1 Gigabit per second.
The technology permits over 10 kilobits of data to be
written and read in parallel with a single flash.
The disk will store 1 terabyte (TB) of data on a single
optical disk.
Holographic Versatile Disc structure

1. Green writing/reading laser (532 nm)

2. Red positioning/addressing laser (650 nm)
3. Hologram (data)
4. Polycarbon layer
5. Photopolymeric layer (data-containing layer)
6. Distance layers
7. Dichroic layer (reflecting green light)
8. Aluminium reflective layer (reflecting red light)
9. Transparent base
P. PIT
Comparison With Other Storage Devices

DVD BLU-RAY HVD

Capacity 9.4 GB 50GB 300 GB (max 3.9 TB)

Laser wave
650 nm 405 nm 407 nm
length

Disc diameter 120 mm 120 mm 120 mm

Read/write
11.08 Mbps 36 Mbps 1 Gbps
speed
ADVANTAGE

Entire page of data can be retrieved quickly and at

one time.
Offers storage of 1 TB of data.
It offers high density storage.
Its transfer rate is so high that a person can easily
load the required data.
Resistance to damage
Tapestry 300r holographic
storage

Developed by InPhase Technologies

Conclusion

Holographic Data Storage disk will be the next

technological revolution.
The page access of data that holographic memory
creates will provide a window into next generation
computing by adding another dimension to stored
data.
The large cost of high-tech optical equipment would make
small-scale systems implemented with holographic
memory impractical.
Francis Sajay K P