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HOLOGRAPHIC STORAGE SYSTEMS
Hitachi, InPhase unleash Holographic storage systems
Holographic storage systems make their first appearance in Hitachi, InPhase unleash Holographic storage systems
InPhase Technologies and Hitachi are in the process of developing the first Holographic storage systems, which will go on sale in the later part of 2006.
Media reports said the holographic storage systems would have an astounding 300 gigabytes of storage capacity.
They are expected to have a transfer rate of of 20 megabits per second, according to sources.
InPhase Technologies and Hitachi, partners in the venture, have christened the technology as `Tapestry holographic memory technology’.
Analysts said the technology was expected to use laser light interference to store 300 GB in a single disc.
The super disc is expected to have a diameter of 13 centimetres.
Even the next generation DVD rollouts from electronics equipment makers Sony and Toshiba are not expected to match this disc, which would be able to store more than six times the content promised by them.
Holographic storage stores information using light-sensitive crystals. It uses more than just a surface, enabling it to store more information than conventional CDs.
According to InPhase Technologies, millions of bits of data can be written and read simultaneously through holography, enabling the amazing pace of transfer rates.
Though holographic storage is nothing new, its potential as a viable storage platform was identified only recently.
Turner Broadcasting System has engaged Hitachi subsidiary Maxell and InPhase Technologies to use holographic disks to store its huge wealth of television content.
The Turner Entertainment Network would store its massive collection of movies through hologram storage, in its bid to exit from depending on tapes and disk-based storage options.
The cost of the relatively new technology means that the application will be confined to the high-end users for the time being. A holographic disk reader is expected to cost more than $15,000. But Turner expects that by 2010, the disk would be able to hold more than 1.6 TB for $100. An 800 GB version is expected to hit the stands in 2008.
But technology watchers say holographic disks have the potential to provide an alternative to HD-DVD and Blu-ray disks.
The Blu-ray Disc Association, even while lauding the technology as exciting, said it was an uphill task for Holographic Technology to set a worldwide standard. Blu-ray is backed by Sony Corp.
Analysts said Holographic storage splits light from a single laser beam the signal beam, which carries the data , and the reference beam.
At the intersection of the two beams the hologram is formed, initiating a chemical reaction in the recording medium. By manipulating the reference beam, many holograms can be recorded in same volume.
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