MS Holographic Storage

How's this for something straight out of science fiction?

Microsoft Project HSD: Holographic Storage Device



Data is first converted into a 2D binary matrix image (ie. QR code). A laser is shown off this image to create an interference pattern (much like a regular transmission hologram) which is then recorded into a lithium niobate crystal (LiNbO3).

The crystal is doped with iron electron donors/receptors (Fe³⁺/Fe²⁺) which act as the 'zeroes-and-ones' that actually record the data. Hitting the crystal with UV light resets the ions, allowing you to write again:



In a recently released article, MS positions Project HSD as the next-generation storage medium, leveraging light's ability to read and write data in a massively parallel system, that is both space/energy efficient and high capacity:



Folks, we're not talking terabytes or exobytes, but zettabytes (10²¹ = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes or 1 sextillion bytes):

(Microsoft Research)
"It is projected that around 125 zettabytes of data will be generated annually by 2024, and storing this in a cost-effective way is going to be a big challenge."

Looks like we might not have to wait until 2369 until we get our very own isolinear chips aboard our starships. (More reading to satisfy the nerd in you.)

 

Very cool, I recall there were quite a few engineering hurdles for this kind of thing. Curious how much has been solved.