Super storage on its way

Store lots of data in a little bit of space. That is the promise
of the new HDS technology. InPhase Technologies has successfully demonstrated
storage of 515 gigabits per square inch data density using this technology. And
now it is poised to touch the 1.6 terabyte capacity

A terabyte would be enough space to store hundreds of movies or a million
books. Imagine all this data saved on to a one-square-inch space! US-based
InPhase Technologies and Maxell Corporation have demonstrated this task thro­ugh
a revolutionary techno­logy called Hologra­phic Data Storage (HDS). At the
Natio­nal Association of Broadcas­ters 2005 (NAB) convention in Las Vegas,
InPhase conducted the first public demonstra­tion of the world's first proto­type
of a commercial storage device together with Maxell Corporation of America.

Holographic memory is a technology that uses a three dimensional medium to
store data. It can access this data page at a time instead of sequentially,
which leads to increase in storage density and access speed. It offers the
possibility of storing one terabyte (TB) of data in a sugar-cube-sized crystal.
Data from more than a 1,000 CDs could fit on a holographic memory system.

How it works?

Holographic recording tech­no­logy utilizes intersecting signal and
reference laser beams to store data in a num­ber of 3D hologram images capable
of saving hundreds of data pages in a single loca­tion. One five and 1/4
inch-diameter optical disc can store up to 150 million pages - more than 63
times the capacity of DVD. Also, with holographic recording, a multiple of form
factors, such as discs, cards, etc and laser wavelengths (red, green, and blue)
can be used.

“Combining high-storage densities and fast transfer rates with durable,
reliable, low-cost media, holographic technology is poised to become a
compelling choice for next-generation storage and content distribution needs,”
said Liz Murphy, VP-Marketing, InPhase Techno­logies. “Unlike other techno­logies
that record one data bit at a time, hologra­phy allows a million bits of data
to be written and read in parallel with a single flash of light. This enables
transfer rates significantly higher than current optical storage devices,” he
added.

In April of 2005, we demonstrated 200GB per sq inch holographic data density and a year later the density has increased more than 2.5 times -Kevin Curtis CTO, InPhase

Both InPhase and Maxell claim holographic data sto­rage to be superior to
existing disc and hard drive techno­logies, and is also competitive against
tape technologies in capacities and transfer rate.

InPhase demonstra­ted the highest data density of any commercial technology
by recording 515 gigabits of data per square inch. According to the company,
holographic storage is a revolutionary departure from all existing recording
methods because it takes advantage of volume­tric efficiencies rather than only
recording on the surface of the material.

The first generation drive has a capacity of 300 giga­bytes on a single disc
with a 20 mega­­byte per second trans­fer rate. The first pro­duct will be
followed by a family ranging from 800GB to 1.6 terabyte (TB) capacity. The first
genera­tion of holo­graphic media with 300GB of storage capacity and a 20Mbps
transfer rate is scheduled for release in late 2006.

Future impact

The impact that these data densities will have on future products is
tremendous. For IT managers dealing with archiving millions of e-mail messages,
higher densities mean savings on space, time, and power.

“Holographic media makes it possible for millions of pages of information
and high definition images to be held on one small, relatively inexpensive
disc,” said Steven Pofcher, Senior Marketing Manager, Maxell.

Surpassing expectations

Densities in holography are achieved by different factors than magnetic
storage. Density depends on the num­ber of pixels/bits in a page of data; the
number of pages that are stored in a particular volumetric loca­tion; the
dynamic range of the recor­ding material; the thickness of the material, and
the wavelength of the recording laser. “In April of 2005, we demonstrated
200GB per sq inch holographic data density and a year later the den­sity has
increased more than 2.5 times,” said Kevin Curtis, CTO, InPhase.

In the demonstration con­ducted by InPhase, there were over 1.3 million bits
per data page, and 320 data pages spaced 0.067 degrees apart were stored in the
same volume of material. A collec­tion of data pages is referred to as a book,
and InPhase's PolyTopic recor­ding architec­ture enables more holograms to
be stored in the same volume of material by over­lapping not only pages, but
also books.

HDS Sceptics

While the holographic me­mory and its potentials sound great, there are few
who feel this technology in its present form may not be successful for the next
many years. In one of the interviews found on the Internet, Bob Long­man,
Engineering Director, Plas­mon, has expressed his dou­bts over the success of
holo­graphic technology for the next several years.

Plasmon is currently the largest blue laser storage media drive producer in
the world and its 30GB capacity UDO optical drive is the market leader in
professional optical archiving.

According to Longman, InPhase technology won't become a reliable and com­mercially
affordable product for several years as it uses photosensitive media for
holographic recording. That means the media has to be stored in a lightproof car­tridge,
unlike CD, DVD, UDO, Blu-ray and HD-DVD media. It also means that the drive has
to be lightproof.

InPhase technology also requires the recording mecha­­nism to be very
precise. Which means any vibration will throw the light beam off-target. Longman
also expre­sses concerns about the life of the light-source and its gene­ral
interoperability of media and drives. Lastly, the com­mer­cially afforability
of the drives and media will take a long time.

To overcome all this possi­bilities, Longman indicates that Plasmon may
attempt at holographic storage techno­logy with the Optware's collinear
technology rather than InPhase's multi-angled approach. “The Optware
technology conceivably has fewer technical hurdles to overcome,” views Longman.

Conclusion

Despite all this doubt over the success of the techno­logy, InPhase and
Maxell are confident that their techno­logy can provide long archival life with
uncomp­ressed sto­rage capacities of 1.6 tera­bytes per disk and data rates
as high as 120 Mbps.

If commercialized at an affordable rate, holographic storage will truly be a
revo­lutionary achievement in optical storage space and a compelling choice for
storage and archival requirements. The first products are likely to be
expensive, and only feasible for large organiza­tions with unusual needs for
storage. However, vendors expect to make holographic storage available and
affordable for the average consumer within the next few years.

Although current versions are not rewritable, the company expects to make
holographic storage that can be rewritten within the next few years.

Nelson Johny

(nelsonpj@cybermedia.co.in)