Optical data storage in microfibers

Tests of optical data storage in arrays of microfibers confirm its applicability and potential for higher storage densities than those achievable with conventional holographic data storage. Arrays of single-mode microfibers, spaced 0.78 microm apart and 60 microm long, were generated in a photopolymer film with four laser beams and simultaneously inscribed with Lippmann-Bragg fringes by use of a counterpropagating beam. Following the curing steps, spectra of white light retroreflected from a single fiber exhibit the reconstructed spectral lines of the multiwavelength laser used in the recording step; 10(11) bits/cm(2), or 10(13) bits on a compact disk, appear to be recordable.