Holographic storage

A holographic data storage system comprising:

• a processor configured to implement a scheduler, the scheduler configured to schedule a write operation across multiple non-contiguous write intervals, the write operation pertaining to data to be stored in a region of a holographic recording medium, the scheduler configured to schedule a further operation in an interval interleaved with the multiple non-contiguous write intervals;
• an emitter system configured to emit, in each of the multiple non-contiguous write intervals, a reference beam and an input beam in which the data is embedded;
• a holographic recording medium, the holographic data storage system being arranged to expose a region of the holographic recording medium to an interference pattern caused by interference between the input and reference beams in each of the multiple non-contiguous write intervals, thereby carrying out the scheduled write operation;
• and
• an optical waveguide network arranged to guide the input beam and the reference beams to the region of the holographic recording medium in each of the multiple non-contiguous write intervals, wherein the system is configured to use the optical waveguide network in the interleaving interval to carry the reference beam to:
• another region of the holographic recording medium or another holographic recording medium, with or without varying at least one of an angle or phase characteristic of the reference beam, or
• the same region of the holographic recording medium but at at least one of a different angle or a different phase characteristic.

A scheduler embodied as executable program code stored on a computer-readable storage medium and configured, when executed on a processor of a holographic data storage system, to perform a write operation in a holographic data storage system comprising:

• scheduling, by the scheduler, a write operation across multiple non-contiguous write intervals, the write operation pertaining to data to be stored in a region of a holographic recording medium, wherein the scheduler uses an energy estimation function to perform the scheduling of the write operation, the energy estimation function for estimating an amount of energy required to complete the write operation;
• and
• in each of the non-contiguous write intervals, exposing the region of the holographic recording medium to an interference pattern caused by interference between a reference beam and an input beam carrying the data,
• wherein the multiple non-contiguous write intervals have a total aggregate duration of sufficient length to cause a persistent state change in the exposed region, such that the data is recoverable from the exposed region within a final write interval of the multiple non-contiguous write intervals.