A novel approach to optical storage based on layering of cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) media is being pioneered by Reveo, Inc. CLC media have been chosen due to their unique property of selective reflection, wherein a CLC film reflects light of its characteristic wavelength and polarization handedness at near-zero loss while transmitting all other light. The new technology has the potential of making possible Terabyte storage on a single optical disk. This results from the ability to place 2 MN CLC layers on a single disk and reading selectively one or more such layers. Here M refers to the number of `decks' selected by depth- of-focus means. Each `deck' has 2 N layers selected by means of N wavelengths and two polarization states. It is projected that an enhancement factor of 2 MN of 400 is possible for M equals 10 and N equals 20. Furthermore, reading many layers in parallel promises to increase the data rate. The novel concept has been demonstrated in a 6-layer experiment. This, along with computer simulation indicate that the technology is viable and can go to market earlier than other storage technologies.

Date Published: 1 May 1996
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 2690, Wavelength Division Multiplexing Components, (1 May 1996); doi: 10.1117/12.238919

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 2690:
Wavelength Division Multiplexing Components
Louis S. Lome, Editor(s)