This hit like a ton of bricks! Looks like Sony has figured out a way to store data to optical discs using a new and inexpensive holographic storage method. If this is true, it could be great news for optical storage. According to this report over at Engadget, Sony was at the International Symposium on Optical Memory in Japan and they held some sort of a demo.
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How do they achieve this nifty feat, you ask? Simple: the laser beam is "split into two so that one of them irradiates the front side of a medium as a reference light while the other is emitted to the backside as a recording light. By precisely aligning focal points of the two lights with a servo technology, a minute interference fringe corresponding to a 1 bit recording mark is formed. When a laser light (reproduction light) is emitted on the front side of the medium having interference fringes, the recording light is reproduced. This light advances from the fringes to the medium front side as if the fringes reflect the reproduction light." |
Simple? Not to me! Will it work? Maybe we have a visitor that can tell us! But facts are sketchy, there isn't any information at the story over at Engadget as to the projected storage capacity when using this new writing strategy, or any clue as to what is meant by "cheap". Unfortunately, I cannot find any other news site discussing this revelation, so we need to get some more information or someone to collaborate this story for sure. At any rate, it is intriguing to think about already.
We also have to wonder what reaction InPhase will have regarding this development. Their soon to be released holographic storage system, is reportedly going to cost tens of thousands of dollars and for right now at least, is aimed at TV networks for bulk digital storage of television shows etc.
Source: Engadget
