Holographic Technology

 

Group 10

 

Brandon Day, Jason Tipton, Brad Wright, Nick Ponder, Nathan Kinard

 

Key Words: Holograms, Tapestry, ZeroWave, Spatial Light Modulator (SLM), Digital Micro Mirror Device (DMMD), Interferograms

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Holograms are three-dimensional images that are created by concentrating two beams of light on a medium.  The point where the two lights intersect is the area that creates the hologram.  The idea of holography has been around for many years, but its full capabilities have yet to be harnessed.  With the sophistication of current technology, holography now has capabilities for applications previously only imagined. 

 

Holographic technology is already being used in a few products.  One example is the Claro Holographic Television.  When you are not watching this TV, it simply looks like a pane of glass standing in your living room.  It uses a rear-end projector to project a holographic image onto the LCD film that is attached to the glass pane.  The 40 inch picture is, unlike other projectors, bright and clear even in the presence of light.  This is because the picture is projected onto LCD’s and thousands of tiny mirrors instead of a blank white screen.  To get your hands on the Claro Holographic TV, without speakers, it costs 15,000 pounds.  The high tech speakers that are made to go with it drive the price up to 25,000 pounds.

 

If you are looking for a cheaper holographic solution, Liti3D makes an affordable product.  Liti3D makes picture frames that hold holographic moving images.  It is like the digital picture frames that are out on the market now, except it uses holographic technology.  The holographic picture works just like the Claro Holographic TV.  It provides a clear moving image that has a 3D effect.  All that you have to do to purchase one of these products is to mail Liti3D a clip from a video that you have taken, and they will create a holographic moving picture and send it to you.  Liti3D currently has a 4.5"x6" picture frame which runs $100 and a 9 “x 12"” version that costs $150.

 

Although the TV and the moving picture both have great quality, they are not true 3D.  This is what Harold Garner, a biochemist at the University of Texas, is creating. A life size, true three-dimensional television.  He has already succeeded in making a small-scale version, but has yet to create the real thing.  The reason that Garner has been able to develop such technologies is due to Digital Micro Mirror Devices.  A Digital Micro Mirror Device (DMD) is a device made up of nearly a million reflective panels, each of which can be angled by a computer several thousand times per second to reflect or deflect beams of light, called interferograms, that produces a moving picture.  This DMD technology is currently being used in the latest high definition TV’s.  It is possible that in the future, people would be able to watch movies from many different angles in the comfort of their own home.

 

The last and most relevant use of holograms to the business world lies in holographic storage devices.  One challenge that has hindered the development of holographic storage is the medium on which to store the data.  Now, a company called InPhase has developed Tapestry; a storage medium that meets all of the criteria for a suitable storage device.   Holography breaks through the limits of conventional storage technology.  The need for fast, high capacity storage devices has been driven by many different industries including medical imaging, data archiving, high-definition video, and many others.  The holographic storage offers the ability to meet these needs.

 

Holographic data is recorded by splitting a laser beam into two separate beams.  One beam is the signal beam, which carries the data, and the other is the reference beam.  The holographic data is stored as a grid where the two beams intersect.  Data is imprinted on to the signal beam using a device called a spatial light modulator.  The SLM converts the digital signal of 0’s and 1’s into a pattern of light and dark pixels that make up around one million bits of data.  The data is recorded onto the storage medium through a chemical reaction similar to that of photography and x-rays.  Once the data is stored, it is retrieved by deflecting the reference beam through the storage medium and received by a detector that reads the data simultaneously.

 

In regards to the Claro television, Liti3D picture frame, and the 3-Dimensional television a competitive advantage can be gained simply for their higher quality.  The Claro offers projection quality in lighted rooms that is not possible with conventional projection systems.  The Liti3D picture frame will have advantage over current digital moving picture frames because it adds a 3D effect.  Also, all of these products are state of the art technology that anyone who can afford them will want.

 

As for the storage device, InPhase has created a competitive advantage for itself by developing a manufacturing process called ZeroWave, which allows for holographic storage to be price competitive for mass consumption.  The high transfer rates and storage capacity that the holographic storage device offers will create interest among industries who seek to optimize the use of their money.  By purchasing the storage device these companies are getting the peek performance for their money.

 

The use of the applications for holographic technology can have a major impact on society.  For example, a major concern for any new technology is security.  The cost of piracy on the US economy for the movie industry alone was $20.5 billion in 2005.  The movie industry is not alone, however.  The music and software industry also struggle with piracy.  Holography may have the answer to this problem.  Holograms have the ability to store data throughout the media, instead of storing on the surface like a CD or DVD does.  This makes decrypting data much more difficult. The added security that holographic storage offers would help bring these figures down.  Holographic watermarks can also be used to ensure that the data has not been tampered with.  These capabilities offer a greater amount of defense against harmful outside forces.

 

Holographic technology has many uses such as TV’s and projectors, but recently it has been valued for its potential as the next generation storage device.  Holographic technology can benefit many organizations because this technology gives us the ability to store more information in the palm of our hand than ever imagined, as well as the enhanced picture quality that is possible in the field of television. 


References

 

A new breakthrough. . . . .Liti3D. Retrieved February 11, 2007, from Liti3D Hologram Technology Web site: http://www.liti3d.com/technology.htm

 

Brewer, Charlie. Claro holographic tv and media system review. (2004, September 15).  Retrieved February 11, 2007, from Pocket-lint Web site: http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/reviews/review.phtml/594/1618/claro-holographic-tv-media-system.phtml

 

Connor, Deni. Are holograms in your storage future?. (2005, September 26).  Retrieved February 11, 2007, from Network World Web site: http://www.networkworld.com/buzz/2005/092605-hologram.html?page=2

 

Keats, Johnathan. The holographic television. Retrieved February 11, 2007, from Popular Science Web site: http://www.popsci.com/popsci/whatsnew/569f0e0796b84010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html

 

Study shows huge cost of movie piracy. (2006, October 02). Retrieved February 11, 2007, from The New Zealand Herold Web site: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/6/story.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10403886

 

What is holographic storage?. Retrieved February 11, 2007, from InPhase Technologies Web site: http://www.inphase-tech.com/technology/index.html                                                                                                                                                                             


Questions about Holographic Technology (Group 10)

 

1.    Tapestry creates a storage medium that satisfies stringent criteria for ________.

         a.) optical clarity                                      b.) viable storage material

         c.)  thermal stability                                 d.)  all of the above

 

2.   Which of the following is a manufacturing process that enables the cost effective fabrication of optically flat media?

          a.) SLM                                                   b.) DMD

          c.) ZeroWave                                          d.) Hologram

 

3.   What is a 2-D interference pattern that disrupts the laser light in such a way that it reflects a 3-D hologram?

          a.) Tapestry                                              b.) Interferograms

          c.) Holographic technology                     d.) None of the above

 

4.   Holographic technology allows _________ bits of data to be read instantly.

          a.) a billion                                               b.) 750,000

          c.) a million                                              d.) 500,000

 

5.   Which of the following is made up of nearly a million reflective panels angled by a computer several thousand times per second to reduce moving pictures?

          a.) DMD                                                    b.) Hologram

          c.) SLM                                                     d.) none of above

 

6.   An SLM translates the electronic data of 0’s and 1’s into an optical “____________” pattern of light and dark pixels.

          a.) monopoly board                                   b.) triangular

          c.) circular                                                  d.) checkerboard

 

7.   Which of the following determines the exact number of bits by a pixel count?

         a.) Interferograms                                       b.) tapestry

         c.) SLM                                                       d.) Reference beam