Holographic data storage system demonstrated
Deborah L. Illman · Chemical & Engineering News · 1994
A complete holographic system for storing and retrieving digital data-based on use of a photorefractive crystal-has been demonstrated for the first time by Stanford University researchers. Their achievement marks a major milestone in the quest for greater digital storage capacity and faster data transfer rates than are possible with conventional computer hard drives and optical discs. Although many hurdles remain before the technology is commercialized, holographic data storage holds great promise for computing, image processing, video, and entertainment applications. Holographic systems offer the possibility of storing information throughout the volume of a material, instead of just on the surface of a recording medium. Such systems also offer increased data transfer rates, since an entire page of digital data can be stored or read in the flash of a laser beam. Electrical engineering professor Lambertus Hesselink and graduate students John F. Heanue and Matthew C. Bashaw reported in last week's Science [265, 749 (1994)] their use ...