Holographic Discs Next Year

TaranT · Post by **TaranT** » Fri Nov 25, 2005 3:51 am

A computer disc about the size of a DVD that can hold 60 times more data is set to go on sale in 2006. The disc stores information through the interference of light – a technique known as holographic memory.

The discs, developed by InPhase Technologies, based in Colorado, US, hold 300 gigabytes of data and can be used to read and write data 10 times faster than a normal DVD. The company, along with Japanese partner Hitachi Maxell announced earlier in November that they would start selling the discs and compatible drives from the end of 2006.

"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," says Liz Murphy, of InPhase Technologies. "This enables transfer rates significantly higher than current optical storage devices."

source

Tech details here.

trythil · Post by **trythil** » Fri Nov 25, 2005 4:08 am

Guess Clarke's datacubes in 3001 weren't so far off after all. Even cooler -- InPhase is something like a 1-2 hour drive away from me. Maybe they give tours :)

If anyone else is interested, here's a link to InPhase's whitepapers on the technology.

I wonder what the durability of the media is.

trythil · Post by **trythil** » Fri Nov 25, 2005 4:15 am

Never mind. That was an easy question to answer.

From

The shelf-life for the media is excellent. Unwritten samples of formulation 223530 and the additive modified 223530 were subjected to extended periods at temperatures ranging from 30 -75 C. The data was then analyzed using standard Arrhenius techniques. Failure of the media was defined as a loss of 20% of the original dynamic range. This classification was determined by the ability to write acceptable holograms with no changes to the schedules irrelevant of the age of the media. This allows the development of a HDS system to be unhampered by the aging characteristics of the media. The original formulation 223530 has a shelf-life of 60 years at 30 C, the additive modified 223530 formulation has a shelf-life greater than 500 years at 30 C.

If by "Arrhenius technique" they mean "Arrhenius equation for chemical reaction rates", well, okay. I don't know enough about aging in the context of storage media to say if there's a better way to test for that, but I guess anything in the range of 60 to 500 years is pretty damn good.

BasharOfTheAges · Post by **BasharOfTheAges** » Fri Nov 25, 2005 10:15 am

IIRC IBM was tring to impliment this technology almost 10 years ago, primarily for medical databasing and such. They boasted a TB of space in something the size of a wrist-watch's face. The drawback? With the manufacturing processes of the time, each one would cost some ungodly amount ($1milion +).

The14thGOD · Post by **The14thGOD** » Fri Nov 25, 2005 11:17 am

i wonder how these (including the drive) is gonna cost o.O, 3 dual layer dvds cost 20-25bucks, this is not gonna be cheap =P or so i think..

pfc · Post by **pfc** » Fri Nov 25, 2005 9:43 pm

Well, media has always gotten cheaper over time, I don't see why HVDs wouldn't. The same thing goes for the drives - the parts get cheaper and more multi-functional, so the drive ends up cheaper.