Read/Write Module for High Capacity Memory Disk

We propose to build the optical heads of a terabyte optical disk using holographic storage in photopolymer. Two heads are proposed ---- a slow one for recording and a fast one for readout. Designs of the heads are simple. The heads are mounted on rails and are driven by linear actuators. The fast head has no moving parts on it and is very light-weighted. The technique used to store data is very tolerant to translational misalignment. Because of this valuable property, tracking electronics are built with standard inexpensive components. When built, the read/write module will sustain a recording rate in excess of 10 Megabits/second, a readout rate of 240 Megabits/second, and a random access time of approximately 20 milliseconds. The storage density of the disk is approximately 122 bits per square micron. The anticipated benefit of the proposed research is to support a data storage system with high capacity and fast access time of the data. Applications that may benefit from this project include and systems that require large data bases.