Biomolecular optical data storage and data encryption.

Area of Science:

• Biophysics
• Materials Science
• Optical Engineering

Background:

• Bacteriorhodopsin (BR) is a light-activated protein with unique photochromic properties.
• Optical data storage technologies are continuously evolving to meet increasing data demands.
• Existing storage methods face limitations in security and anticounterfeiting capabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the potential of bacteriorhodopsin as an active layer for write-once-read-many optical data storage.
• To explore the physical and molecular basis of data recording and encryption using BR.
• To demonstrate a practical application of BR-based optical storage in secure identification cards.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing polarization-sensitive two-photon absorption for data recording.
• Developing an optical encryption procedure based on the polarization-sensitive recording mechanism.
• Fabricating an identification card with an optical recording strip using BR.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated BR's suitability for write-once-read-many optical storage on various substrates (e.g., paper, plastics).
• Achieved a data capacity of approximately 1 MB on an identification card with a recording density of 125 kB/cm².
• Implemented a secure optical encryption method protecting stored data from unauthorized access.

Conclusions:

• Bacteriorhodopsin offers a novel platform for secure optical data storage with anticounterfeiting features.
• The polarization-sensitive recording mechanism is key to both data storage and encryption.
• BR-based storage combines optical storage, photochromism, and traceability at the molecular level, enhancing data security.