Time-domain holographic digital memory

An optical storage technique based on time-domain holography for the rapid recording and readout of page-formatted digital data is demonstrated. Storage of 356 kilobits of data was achieved ai a single spatial location in a rare-earth-doped crystal. The digital data were recorded and accurately retrieved at a peak rate of 300 megabits per second without the use ai error-correcting codes. The system's raw bit error rate is about 10(-7) This law bit error rate was achieved by a detection scheme for extraction of binary data. These results have implications for dynamic optical memory.