Major Breakthrough in Holographic Storage

In in 1877, Thomas Edison invented the phonograph, and today's CDs and DVDs use virtually the same mechanical technology. CDs and DVDs use a laser to read pits and grooves on a polycarbonate material, while the phonograph of yesteryear used a stylus moving against a foil-wrapped grooved cylinder. Advancements in technology, such as shorter wavelength lasers with the ability to read smaller pits, have lead to increased data storage, such as that used in Blu-Ray devices.

To further meet the needs of the huge growth in data storage, GE scientists are abandoning this mechanical technology in favor of a new approach: using 3D volumetric holographic storage technology.

Newly developed polycarbonate materials can chemically change when bombarded with a specific type of laser, allowing data to be written to the disc. Another laser is used to read the chemical changes in the disc, and read the stored data. The main advantage of this approach is that the entire volume of the disc can be used to store data, and not just the surface, thus allowing more data storage. And the data retrieval speed is much faster.

For further reading:
http://emusician.com/futuretech/emusic_holostorage/index.html
http://www.ge.com/research/grc_2_3_1.html

For another variation on holographic technology, check out the website of InPhase Technologies:
http://www.inphase-technologies.com/

Click on image to see a larger view. (Image courtesy of InPhase Technologies.)