Datarius & InPhase to develop future holographic test systems

   Datarius Technologies has signed a comprehensive agreement with InPhase Technologies to be their sole sales, service, and support provider for a range of holographic media test equipment. In addition, Datarius and InPhase have signed a joint agreement for the development of future holographic test systems.    Holographic test systems are used in the manufacturing process to assure the quality of the media meets the hi-ghest specified standards. Media characteristics measured

are optical flatness, dynamic range, sensitivity, read-after-write properties, and shrinkage. InPhase has developed and sells the broadest range of holographic recording materials in the world with wavelength sensitivities for red, green and blue lasers.
   “There were many reasons for choosing Datarius,” says Rusty Rosenberger, InPhase vice president of business development. “We were impressed with the Datarius reputation in the optical media industry. The company has

20 years experience in developing cutting-edge test equipment, and has expertise in opto-mechanics and data processing that links into process control. This is vital for the continued development of holographic test systems. In addition, Datarius has a solid global service and support network.”
   James Steynor, CEO and Chairman of Datarius, says, “InPhase is recognized as the world leader in holographic storage. Their expertise and innovation in both the underlying technology of holographic storage recording methods and the media puts them in a commanding

Rusty Rosenberger - Vice President, Business Development InPhase Technologies, Nelson Diaz - CEO InPhase Technologies, James Steynor - CEO & Chairman Datarius Group, Dr. Wlodek Mischke - Director of Research Datarius Group and Thomas Hackl - CCO Datarius Group

position in this field. We have enjoyed this mutually beneficial association with InPhase over the past two years and are delighted to have now been chosen to work with them on test equipment solutions as they prepare to launch ground-breaking holographic storage products.”

Super-sharp lasers to boost disc capacity tenfold

   Researchers at Kyoto University have developed new semiconductor laser technology that allows the shape of beams to be tailored freely and that can output beams up to 10 times more compact than existing beams – a develo-

lasers were able to produce a range of beam patterns while maintaining stable single-mode oscillation. The ability to control the oscillation direction of light in this way could lead to the development of compact lasers capable of

pment that could lead to a tenfold increase in the storage capacity of optical discs. Research results were published in the June 22 edition of British science journal Nature.
   The Kyoto University group, led by professor Susumu Noda,

producing diverse beam patterns on demand, such as hollow beams (with cross-sections that look like donuts), concentric hollow beams (donuts within donuts), and other shapes that have heretofore been impossible to form.
   Controlling the oscillation direction of light also means that lasers can be focused into ultra-thin beams, enabling a tenfold increase in the density of data storage on discs without changing the wavelength of the laser. Using blue

worked with Kyoto-based Rohm Co., Ltd. and the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) to engineer layers of photonic crystals consisting of tens of thousands of small holes, which were incorporated into 0.5 mm x 0.5 mm semiconductor chips. The photonic crystal layer works as an optical resonator, with each individual hole functioning as a tiny mirror that causes the light to resonate in the semiconductor until it is emitted as laser light. The result is a laser beam with a diameter up to 10 times smaller and with properties different from those of conventional semiconductor lasers.
   According to the researchers, these new semiconductor

lasers such as those used in Blu-ray disc technology could lead to DVDs with hundreds of gigabytes of capacity.
   Potential applications are not limited to ultra-high density storage media. Ultra-thin, hollow beams could be used as “tweezers” for trapping and moving microscopic particles, which could bring a new level of precision to molecular level processing and fabrication. Hidemi Takasu, Rohm’s research director, says, “In addition to seeing our research applied to next-generation DVD technology, we hope it can be applied to imaging technology that uses lasers to project precise images directly onto the human retina.”

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