Inter-pixel grating noise in holographic memories

We have experimentally discovered that the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) of holograms initially remains constant as the number of holograms stored increases and drops significantly only after a large number of holograms are recorded. This suggests that in a large-scale memory, the limiting noise source is not crosstalk between holograms but holographic noise due to the prolonged exposure of the signal beam. We have carried out experiments to investigate the formation and influence of the inter-pixel grating noise and shown that it is a very important form of holographic noise. We also proposed and demonstrated the use of random-phase modulation in the signal to suppress the inter-pixel grating noise.