Holographic discs 20 times roomier than Blu-ray

by Dean Evans at Tuesday 28th April, 2009 at 10:22 pm [0 comments]

As if the Blu-ray format didn’t have enough to contend with… Not only is it threatened by the prospect of digital downloads. But it could be facing early retirement thanks to the arrival of ‘micro-holographic storage’.

GE Global Research has unveiled the new technology, which has the potential to store 500GB of data on a standard 8cm disc. That’s the equivalent of 20 Blu-ray discs or 100 DVDs.

The holographic storage technologydeveloped by GE uses a chemical approach to store data in three dimensions.

Where Blu-ray uses a blue laser to read the pits and grooves etched onto a disc, the fledgeling holographic technology uses “specialized polycarbonate materials that chemically change when bombarded by a specific type of laser.”

The advantage? Rather than being limited to reading information on the surface of a disc, GE’s technology can read the entire volume.

“While some of us just get excited about fitting the entire Star Wars epic on one DVD,” it says on the GE website. “There are many more possibilities with this new technology.”

“Because surface area isn’t a factor any more, there can be much more flexibility in media size and shape, enabling data storage for a range of new applications.

“Imagine the possibilities of checking into the hospital and having your entire medical history stored on a chip and embedded into the plastic ID tag on your wrist. It’s closer than you think.”

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