Methods for storing holographic data and articles having enhanced data storage lifetime derived therefrom

1. A method for storing holographic data, said method comprising:

step (A) providing an optically transparent substrate comprising a photochemically active dye having structure (I)

 wherein R 1 and R 3 are independently a C 1 –C 30 aliphatic radical, a C 3 –C 30 cycloaliphatic radical, or a C 2 –C 30 aromatic radical; R 2 is hydrogen, a C 1 –C 30 aliphatic radical, a C 3 –C 30 cycloaliphatic radical, or a C 2 –C 30 aromatic radical; and at least one of the groups R 1 and R 3 comprises in proximity to the nitrone oxygen, a group

—X—(P 1 ) a

 wherein X is independently at each occurrence an oxygen atom, a nitrogen atom, a sulfur atom, or a selenium atom; P 1 is an organic protecting group, and “a” is 1 or 2;

step (B) irradiating the optically transparent substrate with a holographic interference pattern, wherein the pattern has a first wavelength and an intensity both sufficient to convert, within a volume element of the substrate, at least some of the photochemically active dye into a photo-product, and producing within the irradiated volume element concentration variations of the photo-product corresponding to the holographic interference pattern, thereby producing an optically readable datum corresponding to the volume element; and

step (C) activating the optically transparent substrate to form an intramolecular hydrogen bond to a nitrone oxygen in residual photochemically active nitrone dye, to stabilize the optically readable datum.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said step of activating comprises photo-activating the residual photochemically active nitrone dye at a second wavelength and an intensity sufficient to form a protonated nitrone with an intramolecular hydrogen bond.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein said step of activating comprises thermally activating the residual photochemically active nitrone dye at thermal energies sufficient to form a protonated nitrone with an intramolecular hydrogen bond.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein said step of activating comprises exposing the residual photochemically active nitrone dye to moisture in an amount sufficient to form a protonated nitrone with an intramolecular hydrogen bond.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein said step of activating comprises exposing the residual photochemically active dye to oxygen in an amounts sufficient to form a protonated nitrone with an intramolecular hydrogen bond.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the optically transparent substrate is a polycarbonate.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the photochemically active dye is a nitrone having a structure (II)

 wherein R 1 is a C 1 –C 30 aliphatic radical, a C 3 –C 30 cycloaliphatic radical, or a C 2 –C 30 aromatic radical; R 2 is hydrogen, a C 1 –C 30 aliphatic radical, a C 3 –C 30 cycloaliphatic radical, or a C 2 –C 30 aromatic radical; X is an oxygen atom, a nitrogen atom, a sulfur atom, or a selenium atom; P 1 is an organic protecting group; “a” is 1 or 2; R 4 is a halogen, nitro, hydroxy, a C 1 –C 30 aliphatic radical, a C 3 –C 30 cycloaliphatic radical, or a C 2 –C 30 aromatic radical; and “b” is an integer from 0 to 4 inclusive.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the photochemically active dye is a nitrone having a structure (III)

wherein R 2 is hydrogen, a C 1 –C 30 aliphatic radical, a C 3 –C 30 cycloaliphatic radical, or a C 2 –C 30 aromatic radical; X is an oxygen atom, a nitrogen atom, a sulfur atom, or a selenium atom; P 1 is an organic protecting group; “a” is 1 or 2; R 4 is a halogen, nitro, hydroxy, a C 1 –C 30 aliphatic radical, a C 3 –C 30 cycloaliphatic radical, or a C 2 –C 30 aromatic radical; “b” is an integer from 0 to 4 inclusive; R 5 , R 6 , and R 7 are independently at each occurrence, hydrogen, halogen, a C 1 –C 30 aliphatic radical, a C 3 –C 30 cycloaliphatic radical, or a C 2 –C 30 aromatic radical; and “n” is an integer from 0 to 4 inclusive.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the photochemically active dye is an aromatic nitrone selected from the group consisting of ortho-(tert-butoxycarbonyloxy)phenyl-N-phenyl nitrone, ortho-(2-nitrobenzyloxy)phenyl-N-phenylnitrone, ortho-(triisopropylsilyloxycarbonyloxy)phenyl-N-phenyl nitrone, and combinations thereof.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the photo-product is an oxaziridine.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the photo-product is an aromatic oxaziridine.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the aromatic oxaziridine has a structure (IV)

wherein R 1 is a C 1 –C 30 aliphatic radical, a C 3 –C 30 cycloaliphatic radical, or a C 2 –C 30 aromatic radical; R 2 is hydrogen, a C 1 –C 30 aliphatic radical, a C 3 –C 30 cycloaliphatic radical, or a C 2 –C 30 aromatic radical; X is an oxygen atom, a nitrogen atom, a sulfur atom, or a selenium atom; P 1 is an organic protecting group; “a” is 1 or 2; R 4 is a halogen, nitro, hydroxy, a C 1 –C 30 aliphatic radical, a C 3 –C 30 cycloaliphatic radical, or a C 2 –C 30 aromatic radical; and “b” is an integer from 0 to 4 inclusive.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the aromatic oxaziridine has a structure (V)

wherein R 2 is hydrogen, a C 1 –C 30 aliphatic radical, a C 3 –C 30 cycloaliphatic radical, or a C 2 –C 30 aromatic radical; X is an oxygen atom, a nitrogen atom, a sulfur atom, or a selenium atom; P 1 is an organic protecting group; “a” is 1 or 2; R 4 is a halogen, nitro, hydroxy, a C 1 –C 30 aliphatic radical, a C 3 –C 30 cycloaliphatic radical, or a C 2 –C 30 aromatic radical; “b” is an integer from 0 to 4 inclusive; R 5 , R 6 , and R 7 are independently at each occurrence, hydrogen, halogen, a C 1 –C 30 aliphatic radical, a C 3 –C 30 cycloaliphatic radical, or a C 2 –C 30 aromatic radical; and “n” is an integer from 0 to 4 inclusive.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein said first wavelength is from about 375 nanometers to about 450 nanometers.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein said first wavelength is from about 450 nanometers to about 550 nanometers.

16. The method of claim 2 , wherein said second wavelength is longer than the first wavelength, and the second wavelength is from about 450 nanometers to about 1500 nanometers.

17. The method of claim 2 , wherein said second wavelength is longer than the first wavelength, and the second wavelength is from about 550 nanometers to about 1500 nanometers.

18. The method of claim 2 , wherein said second wavelength is shorter than the first wavelength, and the second wavelength is from about 10 nanometers to about 400 nanometers.

19. A method for storing holographic data, said method comprising:

step (A) providing an optically transparent substrate comprising a photochemically active nitrone having structure (VI)

 wherein R 1 is a C 1 –C 30 aliphatic radical, a C 3 –C 30 cycloaliphatic radical, or a C 2 –C 30 aromatic radical; R 2 is hydrogen, a C 1 –C 30 aliphatic radical, a C 3 –C 30 cycloaliphatic radical, or a C 2 –C 30 aromatic radical; P 1 is an organic protecting group; R 4 is a halogen, nitro, hydroxy, a C 1 –C 30 aliphatic radical, a C 3 –C 30 cycloaliphatic radical, or a C 2 –C 30 aromatic radical; and “b” is an integer from 0 to 4 inclusive;

step (B) irradiating the optically transparent substrate with a holographic interference pattern, wherein the pattern has a first wavelength and an intensity both sufficient to convert, within a volume element of the substrate, at least some of the photochemically active nitrone into a photo-product of the photochemically active nitrone, and producing within the irradiated volume element concentration variations of the photo-product corresponding to the holographic interference pattern, thereby producing a first optically readable datum corresponding to the volume element; and

step (C) activating the optically transparent substrate to form an intramolecular hydrogen bond to a nitrone oxygen in residual photochemically active nitrone dye, to stabilize the optically readable datum.

20. An optical writing/reading method, comprising:

step (A) irradiating with a holographic interference pattern an optically transparent substrate that comprises a photochemically active dye having structure (I)

 wherein R 1 and R 3 are independently a C 1 –C 30 aliphatic radical, a C 3 –C 30 cycloaliphatic radical, or a C 2 –C 30 aromatic radical; R 2 is hydrogen, a C 1 –C 30 aliphatic radical, a C 3 –C 30 cycloaliphatic radical, or a C 2 –C 30 aromatic radical; and at least one of the groups R 1 and R 3 comprises in proximity to the nitrone oxygen, a group

—X—(P 1 ) a

 wherein X is independently at each occurrence an oxygen atom, a nitrogen atom, a sulfur atom, or a selenium atom; P 1 is an organic protecting group, and “a” is 1 or 2;

wherein the pattern has a first wavelength and an intensity both sufficient to convert, within a volume element of the substrate, at least some of the photochemically active dye into a photo-product, and producing within the irradiated volume element concentration variations of the photo-product corresponding to the holographic interference pattern, thereby producing a first optically readable datum corresponding to the volume element; wherein the holographic interference pattern is produced by simultaneously irradiating the optically transparent substrate with two interfering beams at the first wavelength;

step (B) activating the optically transparent substrate to form an intramolecular hydrogen bond to a nitrone oxygen in residual photochemically active nitrone dye, to stabilize the optically readable datum; and

step (C) irradiating the optically transparent substrate with a read beam and reading the optically readable datum by detecting diffracted light.

21. The method of claim 20 , wherein the two interfering beams comprise a signal beam corresponding to data and a reference beam that does not correspond to data.

22. The method of claim 20 , wherein the read beam has a wavelength that is shifted by 0 nanometer to about 400 nanometers from the signal beam's wavelength.

23. The method of claim 20 , wherein the first wavelength, the second wavelength and the read beam all have different wavelengths.

24. A data storage medium comprising:

an optically transparent plastic material; and

a photochemically active dye having structure (I)

 wherein R 1 and R 3 are independently a C 1 –C 30 aliphatic radical, a C 3 –C 30 cycloaliphatic radical, or a C 2 –C 30 aromatic radical; R 2 is hydrogen, a C 1 –C 30 aliphatic radical, a C 3 –C 30 cycloaliphatic radical, or a C 2 –C 30 aromatic radical; and at least one of the groups R 1 and R 3 comprises in proximity to the nitrone oxygen, a group

—X—(P 1 ) a

 wherein X is independently at each occurrence an oxygen atom, a nitrogen atom, a sulfur atom, or a selenium atom; P 1 is an organic protecting group, and “a” is 1 or 2.

25. A data storage medium having at least one optically readable datum stored therein, the data storage medium comprising:

an optically transparent plastic material;

a photochemically active dye having structure (I)

 wherein R 1 and R 3 are independently a C 1 –C 30 aliphatic radical, a C 3 –C 30 cycloaliphatic radical, or a C 2 –C 30 aromatic radical; R 2 is hydrogen, a C 1 –C 30 aliphatic radical, a C 3 –C 30 cycloaliphatic radical, or a C 2 –C 30 aromatic radical; and at least one of the groups R 1 and R 3 comprises in proximity to the nitrone oxygen, a group

—X—(P 1 ) a

 wherein X is independently at each occurrence an oxygen atom, a nitrogen atom, a sulfur atom, or a selenium atom; P 1 is an organic protecting group, and “a” is 1 or 2;

a photo-product derived from the photochemically active dye; and

a photo-stable product derived from the photochemically active dye, the photoproduct, or combinations thereof;

wherein the optically readable datum is stored as a hologram patterned within at least one volume element of the optically transparent substrate.