Abstract

The ultimate memory device would be one in which a bit of data is stored in every atom or molecule within a storage material. Such a memory would have an incredible storage capacity of somewhere in the range of 10²² bits/cm³. Traditional optical memories, whether two- or three-dimensional, can never hope to achieve atomic-level storage densities for the simple reason that minimally sized storage cells always have edge dimensions on the order of or larger than the wavelength of light employed. In the case of visible light, cubic wavelength scale storage volumes contain billions of atoms.

© 1991 Optical Society of America