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Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics

Technological aspects of a practical frequency-domain optical storage system

Frank M. Schellenberg, Wilfried Lenth, Gary C. Bjorklund

Published Jan 1, 1986• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

Frequency domain optical storage presents a method of storing information at densities of 1011–1012 bits/cm2,1 Persistent spectral hole burning PHB) allows binary data to be encoded by the presence or absence of holes burned in inhomogeneously broadened absorption bands at low temperature by exposure to narrowband light from a tunable laser. Typical hole widths are ~100 MHz, while typical line widths are ~200 GHz, making it possible to write >103 holes in a tightly focussed laser spot.

DOI
10.1364/cleo.1986.fd4

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Persistent spectral hole-burning (PHB) permits use of the optical frequency for encoding digital information through the presence and absence of spectral holes that are burned in inhomogeneously broadened absorption lines at low temperatures. The combination of spectral and spatial data recording can make storage densities of 1010 bits/cm2 possible. The most challenging innovation needed to achieve a practical storage system is presented by the complex materials requirements1 on a successful storage medium.

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Recently there has been considerable interest in frequency domain optical memories based on the cryogenic phenomenon of photochemical hole burning.1 This phenomenon occurs whenever persistent photochemical changes can be induced by exposure to narrowband optical radiation tuned to a frequency within the inhomogeneously broadened zero phonon line of a photoactive material contained In a host. The narrowband radiation selectively excites that fraction of molecules whose homogeneous linewidth overlaps the excitation frequency. The ensuing photochemical reaction results in a persistent narrow dip or hole in the line shape. Since typical ratios of inhomogeneous- to-homogeneous widths are of the order of 103, 103 resolvable holes can be burned into the inhomogeneous line at each spatial location in the sample. Thus the storage density in such a frequency domain optical memory might ultimately be 103 higher than in a conventional optical memory.

Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics•Jan 1, 1983•0 citations
Frequency domain optical storage presents a method of storing information at densities of 1011–1012 bits/cm2,1 Persistent spectral hole burning PHB) allows binary data to be encoded by the presence or absence of holes burned in inhomogeneously broadened absorption bands at low temperature by exposure to narrowband light from a tunable laser. Typical hole widths are ~100 MHz, while typical line widths are ~200 GHz, making it possible to write >103 holes in a tightly focussed laser spot.
Persistent spectral hole-burning (PHB) permits use of the optical frequency for encoding digital information through the presence and absence of spectral holes that are burned in inhomogeneously broadened absorption lines at low temperatures. The combination of spectral and spatial data recording can make storage densities of 1010 bits/cm2 possible. The most challenging innovation needed to achieve a practical storage system is presented by the complex materials requirements1 on a successful storage medium.
One very exciting application of laser spectroscopy would be to use the high-resolution capabilities of today’s lasers and the phenomenon of persistent spectral hole-burning to form a frequency domain optical storage system.1 In such a system, bits of information would be stored by locally modifying (in the frequency domain) the shape of an inhomogeneously broadened absorption line of an absorber in a solid at low temperatures. Because typical homogeneous widths are 1000X (or more) narrower than typical inhomogeneous widths, as many as 1000 bits could be written in one diffraction-limited 1-μm spot In a sample, yielding the impressive storage density of 1011 bits/cm2.
Persistent spectral hole-burning (PHB, also called photochemical hole-burning) permits use of the optical frequency for encoding digital information through the presence and absence of spectral holes that are burned in inhomogeneously broadened absorption lines at low (liquid helium) temperatures. The optical frequency or wavelength at which a given hole is burned acts as an additional dimension for data storage, hence this optical recording scheme has been called Frequency Domain Optical Storage (FDOS). The combination of spectral and spatial data-recording can make storage densities in excess of 1010 bits/cm2 possible; furthermore, since rotation of the recording medium is not necessary, shorter random access times will result. The future success of the FDOS concept will rely on progress in several technological and engineering areas as well as on advances in several critical materials areas1.
Persistent spectral hole-burning (PHB) is a phenomenon that allows an additional dimension, the frequency at which spectral holes are written, to be used to encode digital data. PHB can be used to store a large number of bits of information in the volume irradiated by a focused laser beam, leading to a possible future storage technology, frequency domain optical storage. A large number of photochemical and photophysical mechanisms have led to the production of spectral holes; a wealth of information has been learned about host-guest interactions, dephasing, and solid-state photochemistry at low temperatures. The general structure of a frequency domain optical store places a set of constraints on the engineering of such a system as well as on the materials used as recording media. The dynamics of the hole-burning process are crucial; for monophotonic mechanisms in particular, a set of stringent constraints can be derived that limit the applicability of this class of materials. Recent discoveries of two-color, photon-gated hole-burning offer special promise for nondestructive reading and improved performance.
The use of persistent spectral hole burning in optical data storage allows an increase of the storage density up to a factor of 1000 compared to the common spatial matrix of optical bits.1 The information is stored by burning at low temperature a sequence of narrow spectral holes in the inhomogeneously broadened optical transition of optical centers, e.g. dye molecules embedded in an amorphous polymer, with a tunable narrow-bandwidth laser. One bit of information is encoded by the presence or absence of a hole at a given location in frequency space. The information is read by observing the absorption or the fluorescence of the storage material using a laser with tunable frequency. One of the problems of spectral hole burning data storage arises from the fact that for addressing the memory locations the laser frequency has to be changed over a large frequency range with high accuracy and speed.
Recently there has been considerable interest in frequency domain optical memories based on the cryogenic phenomenon of photochemical hole burning.1 This phenomenon occurs whenever persistent photochemical changes can be induced by exposure to narrowband optical radiation tuned to a frequency within the inhomogeneously broadened zero phonon line of a photoactive material contained In a host. The narrowband radiation selectively excites that fraction of molecules whose homogeneous linewidth overlaps the excitation frequency. The ensuing photochemical reaction results in a persistent narrow dip or hole in the line shape. Since typical ratios of inhomogeneous- to-homogeneous widths are of the order of 103, 103 resolvable holes can be burned into the inhomogeneous line at each spatial location in the sample. Thus the storage density in such a frequency domain optical memory might ultimately be 103 higher than in a conventional optical memory.