Controlling the transmission amplitude profile of a coherent light beam in a holographic memory system

1. A holographic system comprising:

a photosensitive storage medium configured to holographically-store information;

a source of a coherent light beam; and

an optical steering subsystem for directing said coherent light beam to said storage medium, comprising:

at least one beam-shaping device positioned in the path of one or more coherent light beams traveling through said optical steering subsystem, said at least one beam-shaping device configured to shape the coherent light beam into a substantially diffraction noise-free coherent light beam having predetermined dimensions and a continuous light beam profile of distinct intensity zones;

wherein said beam-shaping device comprises:

a holographic optical element having a hologram stored therein, wherein said holographic optical element is configured to form said shaped diffraction noise-free coherent light beam having predetermined dimensions and a continuous beam profile having a plurality of distinct, radially-successive circumferential intensity zones.

2. A holographic system comprising:

a photosensitive storage medium configured to holographically-store information;

a source of a coherent light beam; and

an optical steering subsystem for directing said coherent light beam to said storage medium, comprising:

at least one beam-shaping device positioned in the path of one or more coherent light beams traveling through said optical steering subsystem, said at least one beam-shaping device configured to shape the coherent light beam into a substantially diffraction noise-free coherent light beam having predetermined dimensions and a continuous light beam profile of distinct intensity zones;

wherein said beam-shaping device comprises:

a holographic optical element; and

a holographic storage medium having a hologram stored therein,

wherein said holographic optical element is configured to form said shaped diffraction noise-free coherent light beam having predetermined dimensions and a continuous beam profile having a plurality of distinct, radially-successive circumferential intensity zones.

3. The device of claim 1 , wherein said plurality of distinct radially-successive circumferential intensity zones comprise three distinct intensity transmission zones.

4. The device of claim 3 , wherein said three distinct transmission zones comprise:

a high intensity transmission zone configured to transmit a high intensity of said incident coherent light beam there through;

a low intensity transmission zone configured to transmit approximately zero intensity of said incident coherent light beam; and

a varying intensity transmission zone positioned between said high intensity transmission zone and said low intensity transmission, configured to transmit a varying intensity of said incident coherent light beam; and

wherein the intensity of light transmitted by said varying intensity transmission zone decreases at some rate across said zone from a high intensity of light transmission near said high intensity transmission zone to approximately zero intensity at said low intensity transmission zone.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the hologram stored in the holographic optical element is formed by interfering a reproducible reference beam and a shaped soft-edged beam within the holographic optical element.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein said beam shaping device comprises: a glass substrate having a plurality of distinct intensity transmission zones corresponding to the plurality of distinct, radially-successive circumferential intensity zones.

7. The system of claim 2 , wherein said plurality of distinct radially-successive circumferential intensity zones comprise three distinct intensity transmission zones.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein said three distinct transmission zones comprise:

a high intensity transmission zone configured to transmit a high intensity of said incident coherent light beam there through;

a low intensity transmission zone configured to transmit approximately zero intensity of said incident coherent light beam; and

a varying intensity transmission zone positioned between said high intensity transmission zone and said low intensity transmission, configured to transmit a varying intensity of said incident coherent light beam; and

wherein the intensity of light transmitted by said varying intensity transmission zone decreases at some rate across said zone from a high intensity of light transmission near said high intensity transmission zone to approximately zero intensity at said low intensity transmission zone.

9. The system of claim 2 , wherein the hologram stored in the holographic storage medium is formed by interfering a reproducible reference beam and a shaped soft-edged beam within the holographic storage medium.

10. The system of claim 2 , wherein said beam shaping device comprises:

a glass substrate having a plurality of distinct intensity transmission zones corresponding to the plurality of distinct, radially-successive circumferential intensity zones.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the hologram to be recorded in the photosensitive storage medium is recorded in the photosensitive storage medium by interfering the diffraction noise-free coherent light beam and a reproducible reference beam.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the substantially diffraction noise-free coherent light beam is read with the coherent light beam.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the coherent light beam is the same as the reproducible reference beam.

14. The system of claim 11 , wherein the hologram of the beam-shaping device is read in phase conjugation mode with the coherent light beam incident on the holographic optical element in the reverse direction as the reproducible reference beam used to record the hologram.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the coherent light beam is the same as the reproducible reference beam.