Researchers Demonstrate New Type of Holographic Memory Device

Researchers have now created a new type of holographic memory device that can store a large amount of data using spin waves.

The device developed by researchers at the University of California, Riverside Bourns College of Engineering and Russian Academy of Science paves way for new kind of memory storage devices that can store large amount of data in three dimensions.

"The results open a new field of research, which may have tremendous impact on the development of new logic and memory devices," said Alexander Khitun, the lead researcher, who is a research professor at UC Riverside, according to a news release.

The device exploits spin wave interference or collective oscillations of spins in magnets. Currently, storage devices use optical beams.

Holography is a technique that captures light scattered by an object, and then presents it in such a way that the observer sees it as a three-dimensional image. The technique, also called "lens-less" photography, captures interference pattern at the film, which makes the image more detailed than a conventional photograph. Holograms seen in driver's licenses and currency notes are just few examples of the technique at work.

Holography is recognized as the future of data storage. The latest study shows that one can apply advanced holographic technique used in optics to magnetic structures, creating a kind of "magnonic holographic memory device."

The study "Magnonic Holographic Memory," will be published in the journal Applied Physics Letters. Read the paper, here.

Most of Khitun's research over the past nine years has focused on spin wave-based logic circuits, which are similar to those used in current computers. The present study rests on the idea that a holographic memory device needn't replace a computer's electronic circuits. Instead, the device could work with the existing system and help with certain tasks such as image recognition.

The experiments in the current study were conducted using 2-bit magnonic holographic memory prototype device. A pair of magnets acted as memory elements and was placed on magnetic waveguides.

The magnetic field produced by the magnets affect the spin waves moving through the magnetic field. In the experiment, researchers found that spin wave interference led to production of a clear picture and researchers could recognize the states of magnets. 

The technology is still in its infant stage and will require several years of research before being applied on a commercial scale.