Abstract

Holographic volume data storage has long been an intriguing subject of research interest. The main reason for this interest is the promise of enormous data storage capacities. In a 1-cm³ volume, storage of 10¹² bits or more is possible using visible light.¹ However, past attempts at attaining and demonstrating a volume holographic data storage system of this density have fallen far short of this theoretical limit.² Although material limitations contributed to this shortcoming, of more fundamental importance however were the problems associated with the angular multiplexing schemes used to holographically access the volume of the storage medium.³ In addition, photorefractive materials were often used as the holographic storage media⁴; however, such materials have lacked an effective and efficient fixing mechanism.

© 1991 Optical Society of America