Data storage method and device
View Patent ↗A method for storing data including: providing a first substrate having a plurality of micro-holograms therein, the micro-holograms being indicative of the data; providing a second hologram-supporting substrate; illuminating the plurality of micro-holograms in the first substrate through the second substrate, thereby producing a holographic pattern in the second substrate indicative of reflections of the plurality of micro-holograms in the first substrate; providing a third hologram-supporting substrate; and, illuminating the holographic pattern in the second substrate through the third substrate, thereby substantially replicating the plurality of micro-holograms in the first substrate in the third substrate.
1. A method for storing data comprising:
providing a first optically non-linearly responsive substrate having a plurality of micro-holograms therein, said micro-holograms being indicative of the data;
providing a second hologram-supporting substrate;
illuminating the plurality of micro-holograms in the first substrate through the second substrate, thereby producing a plurality of micro-holograms in the second substrate indicative of reflections of the plurality of micro-holograms in the first substrate;
providing a third hologram-supporting optically non-linearly responsive substrate; and,
illuminating the plurality of micro-holograms in the second substrate through the third substrate, thereby identically replicating the plurality of micro-holograms in the first substrate in the third substrate.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the illuminating steps are flash illuminating steps.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein each of said first, second and third substrates comprises a moldable non-photopolymer plastic substrate.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein each said moldable non-photopolymer plastic substrate comprises a molded disc.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the third substrate comprises a phase-change inducible thermoplastic material.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the second substrate comprises a material having a substantially linear hologram recording characteristic.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the first substrate comprises a phase-change inducible thermoplastic material.
8. The method of claim 1 , comprising vertically aligning the third substrate such that the plurality of micro-holograms is replicated to a selected depth in the third substrate.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein illuminating the plurality of micro-holograms in the first substrate comprises using focusing optics to focus the illumination to a first selected depth in the first substrate, and illuminating the plurality of micro-holograms in the second substrate through the third substrate comprises using focusing optics to focus the illumination to a second selected depth in the second substrate.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein illuminating the plurality of micro-holograms in the second substrate through the third substrate results in an interference between a reflection of the illumination of the plurality of micro-holograms in the second substrate and a counter-propagating emission of the illumination through the third substrate.
11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the interference of the reflection and the counter-propagating emission form interference fringe patterns indicative of the plurality of micro-holograms in the first substrate.