Time-Domain Holographic Digital Memory

Abstract

An optical storage technique based on time-domain holography for the rapid recording and readout of page-formatted digital data is demonstrated. Storage of 356 kilobits of data was achieved at a single spatial location in a rare-earth–doped crystal. The digital data were recorded and accurately retrieved at a peak rate of 300 megabits per second without the use of error-correcting codes. The system's raw bit error rate is about 10 − 7 . This low bit error rate was achieved by a detection scheme for extraction of binary data. These results have implications for dynamic optical memory.