Method and apparatus for holographically recording and reproducing images in a sequential manner

A holographic storage system, comprising:

• a holographic storage media having a top surface and a bottom surface with a plurality of storage regions for storing pages of holographic recordings therein, said storage regions arranged in parallel rows, each row having the associated storage regions spaced a predetermined distance apart along the associated row;
• a coherent light source for generating a coherent light beam;
• a beam splitter for splitting said coherent light beam into a first light beam comprising a reference beam and a second light beam;
• a spatial light modulator for superimposing an image representing multiple bits of data on said second light beam to form a data beam during a record operation;
• a data directing system operable in said record mode for directing said data beam to illuminate a select one of said storage regions in a select one of said rows;
• a reference beam directing system for directing, at a predetermined angle, said reference beam, during said record mode to intersect with said data beam in the select one of said storage regions, the interference of said data beam and said reference beam recording an interference grating having stored therein information corresponding to said image of the multiple bits of data on said data beam, said reference beam directing system, during a data reconstruction operation, directing, at a predetermined angle, said reference beam to a select one of said storage regions in a select one of said rows to generate a reconstructed data beam when a holographic recording is disposed in the select one of said storage regions;
• a control system for controlling said reference beam directing system during said data reconstruction mode to sequentially incrementally access a plurality of said storage regions in a select one of said rows by controlling said reference beam directing system to direct said reference beam at one of said storage regions for a sufficient time to generate said reconstructed data beam and then incrementally direct said reference beam to another of the select ones of said storage regions in said row;
• said control system for controlling said reference beam and data beam directing systems during said record operation to sequentially and incrementally access a plurality of said storage regions in a select one of said rows by controlling said reference beam and data beam directing systems to direct said reference beam and data beam at one of said storage regions to intersect for a sufficient time to form an interference grating therein and then incrementally direct said reference beam and said data beam to another of the select ones of said storage regions in said row;
• and
• a detector for detecting and extracting the data in said reconstructed data beam during said data reconstruction mode.

A holographic storage system, comprising:

• a holographic storage media having a top surface and a bottom surface with a plurality of storage regions for storing pages of holographic recordings therein each comprised of an image of multiple bits of data, said storage regions arranged in parallel rows, each row having the associated storage regions spaced a predetermined distance apart along the associated row;
• a coherent light source for generating a coherent light beam;
• a beam directing system operable for incrementally directing said coherent light beam to adequately and substantially cover and illuminate a select one of said storage regions in a select one of said rows for a predetermined period of time;
• a beam splitter for splitting said coherent light beam into a first light beam comprising a reference beam and a second light beam;
• a spatial light modulator for superimposing an image representing multiple bits of data on said second light beam to form a data beam during a record mode, and inhibit said second light beam during a data reconstruction mode;
• a reference beam angle multiplexing system for imparting one of a plurality of predetermined angles onto said reference beam and, during said record mode, to intersect with said data beam in the select one of said storage regions at the one of said plurality of predetermined angles, the interference of said data beam and said reference beam at the one of said predetermined angles recording an associated interference grating having stored therein information corresponding to said data on said data beam, said reference beam angle multiplexing system, during a data reconstruction operation, imparting one of said predetermined angles to said reference beam to select the one of said recordings in said select storage region associated with the one of said predetermined angles to generate a reconstructed data beam;
• a control system for controlling said beam directing system to sequentially and incrementally access a plurality of said storage regions for said predetermined amount of time in a select one of said rows and controlling said reference beam angle multiplexing system to sequentially and incrementally impart one of said plurality of predetermined angles to said reference beams for said predetermined amount of time while directed at the select one of said storage regions to sequentially generate said reconstructed data beam;
• and
• a detector for detecting and extracting the data in said reconstructed data beam during said data reconstruction mode.

A method for accessing holographic recordings in a holographic storage system, comprising the steps of:

• providing a holographic storage media having a top surface and a bottom surface with a plurality of storage regions for storing pages of holographic recordings therein and each comprised of an image representing multiple bits of data, the storage regions arranged in parallel rows, each row having the associated storage regions spaced a predetermined distance apart along the associated row;
• generating a coherent light beam;
• incrementally directing, at a predetermined angle, the coherent light beam as a reference beam to a select one of the storage regions in a select one of the rows for a predetermined amount of time to generate a reconstructed data beam when a holographic recording is disposed in the select one of said storage regions;
• controlling the step of directing the reference beam to sequentially and incrementally access a plurality of the storage regions in a select one of the rows by directing the reference beam at one of the storage regions for said predetermined amount of time to generate the reconstructed data beam and then incrementally directing the reference beam to another of the select ones of the storage regions in the row;
• and
• detecting and extracting the data in the reconstructed data beam after being generated for said predetermined amount of time.

A method for storing and accessing holographic recordings in a holographic storage system, comprising the steps of:

• providing a holographic storage media having a top surface and a bottom surface with a plurality of storage regions for storing pages of holographic recordings therein each comprised of an image representing multiple bits of data, the storage regions arranged in parallel rows, each row having the associated storage regions spaced a predetermined distance apart along the associated row;
• generating a coherent light beam;
• splitting the coherent light beam into a first light beam comprising a reference beam and a second light beam:
• superimposing data on the second light beam to form a data beam during a record operation;
• in the record mode, directing the data beam to substantially illuminate only a select one of the storage regions in a select one of the rows;
• incrementally directing, at a predetermined angle, the reference beam, during the record mode to intersect with the data beam in the select one of the storage regions for a first predetermined amount of record time;
• the interference of the data beam and the reference beam recording an interference grating having stored therein information corresponding to the data on the data beam, and, during a data reconstruction operation, incrementally directing, at a predetermined angle, the reference beam to a select one of the storage regions in a select one of the rows for a second predetermined amount of playback time to generate a reconstructed data beam when a holographic recording is disposed in the select one of the storage regions;
• controlling the step of directing during the data reconstruction mode to incrementally and sequentially access a plurality of the storage regions in a select one of the rows by directing the reference beam at one of the storage regions for said playback time to generate the reconstructed data beam and then incrementally directing the reference beam to another of the select ones of the storage regions in the row for said playback time;
• controlling the step of directing to incrementally and sequentially access a plurality of the storage regions in a select one of the rows by directing the reference beam and data beam at one of the storage regions to intersect for said record time to form an interference grating therein and then incrementally direct the reference beam and data beam to another of the select ones of the storage regions in the row for said record time;
• and
• detecting and extracting the data in the reconstructed data beam during the data reconstruction mode after said reconstructed data beam has been generated for said playback time.

A method for storing and accessing holographic recordings in a holographic storage system, comprising the steps of:

• providing a holographic storage media having a top surface and a bottom surface with a plurality of storage regions for storing pages of holographic recordings therein each comprised of an image representing multiple bits of data, the storage regions arranged in parallel rows, each row having the associated storage regions spaced a predetermined distance apart along the associated row;
• generating a coherent light beam;
• incrementally directing the coherent light beam to substantially and completely illuminate only a select one of the storage regions in a select one of the rows;
• splitting the coherent light beam into a first light beam comprising a reference beam and a second light beam;
• superimposing data on the second light beam to form a data beam during a record mode, and inhibiting the second light beam during a data reconstruction mode;
• incrementally imparting one of a plurality of predetermined angles onto the reference beam and, during the record mode, to intersect with the data beam in the select one of the storage regions at the one of the plurality of predetermined angles for a predetermined amount of record time, the interference of the data beam and the reference beam at the one of the predetermined angles recording an associated interference grating having stored therein information corresponding to the data on the data beam aad, during a data reconstruction operation, incrementally imparting one of the predetermined ad angles to the reference beam to select the one of the recordings in the select storage region associated with the one of the predetermined angles for a predetermined amount of playback time to generate a reconstructed data beam;
• controlling the step of directing to sequentially and incrementally access a plurality of the storage regions in a select one of the rows and controlling the step of incrementally imparting to incrementally and sequentially impart one of the plurality of predetermined angles to the reference beam while directed at the select one of the storage regions to sequentially generate the reconstructed data beam;
• and
• detecting and extracting the data in the reconstructed data beam during the data reconstruction mode after playback time.