Abstract

Volume holography is an important candidate for data storage and data processing applications. Its advantages lie in the inherent high capacity of volume memory, fast access due to optical addressing, and fast transfer rates due to the parallel nature of holography [1]. Multiple holograms, or data pages, may be stored using angular multiplexing, wavelength multiplexing, and related techniques. Capacity is determined by the angular bandwidth of the signal, the number of holographic pages, and the acceptable level of noise due to crosstalk and other sources present in the system. Volume holography is also an important candidate for optical interconnects and wavelength division multiplexing in communications and computing systems. Frequently, the same criteria required for data storage coincide with those required for other applications.

© 1996 Optical Society of America