Holographic memory systems have been in existence since decades, but they haven’t been used as widely as CDs and DVDs. You may have heard about the Blu-ray discs, but perhaps not the HVDs; so, let’s get to know what holographic versatile disc really is, the reason for such media not being used often, its working, and everything else about the holographic discs.
What is a Holographic Versatile Disc?
Holographic Versatile Disc (HVD) is a holographic storage medium in the form of an advanced optical disk that is similar to CDs and DVDs, but it is capable of storing much more data than these storage formats. HVD can store as much data as 160 Blu-Ray discs or 830 DVDs.
In this kind of storage media, laser beams are used to store digital info in 3-dimensions rather than 2-dimensions as in DVD or CD. This also increases capacity. We can envisage HVD as a holographic layer constructed upon a typical disc.
Working Concept of HVD
The process of HVD includes a technology known as collinear holography, which makes use of a blue-green laser ray, made parallel with a red laser ray that is used for servo and tracking. In the process of recording, the first laser is divided into two rays. One of them goes through a device known as Spatial Light Modulator (SLM) and unites with the direct ray to generate a hologram in the physical medium.
Another laser (532 Nm) is guided into the hologram to recover the data. The image that results comprised an optical regeneration of the original recorded data. This optical data is converted into original digital files with the help of a photosensitive semiconductor device.
Obstacles for Technology Implementation
There are several obstructions that this technology has been facing, making it difficult to be implemented in the consumer market. Firstly, many of these systems transmit the reference bean and information beam on different axes into the recording medium. This needs high intricate optical systems to assemble them at the exact point at which they require to meet.
The other obstacle is the incompatibility with the present storage media. Conventionally, holographic storage systems need no servo data since the beam hauling it could get in the way of holography process. Moreover, the holographic memory discs have been considerably thicker than the CDs and DVDs.
Before even establishing itself completely, this technology is in threat of becoming obsolete.
Advantages of Holographic Versatile Discs
The most significant advantage of HVDs is undoubtedly its increased storage capacity, which is offered by the unique encoding on the discs itself. Such discs can store almost 1 Tb of data, which is the capacity of around 200 CDs. Secondly since more data is stored on every inch of a HVD the data transfer rate is much faster than other storage mediums. Finally, due to the increased transfer rate and increased storage capacity of these discs, they can be greatly helpful for computer backups.
Holographic Data Storage
Holographic data storage is a potential mass storage technology in the field of high capacity data storage presently dominated by the typical magnetic and optical data storage. Optical and magnetic storage devices depend on the individual bits being stored as discrete optical or magnetic updates on the recording medium surface.
The holographic method gets rid of this limitation by recording info all through the volume of the medium and has the ability to record multiple images in the same place using light at various angles.
Jamie Michaels is a tech geek, who is always busy finding the latest technological inventions on the Internet. He simply can’t live without his iPhone, and laptop. He also provides quality guest posting services to generate additional income on the sites.