High-speed holographic recording of 500 images in a rare earth doped solid

We present experimental results demonstrating high-speed storage and retrieval of 500 single-page time-domain holograms in an Eu3+:Y2SiO5 crystal. The holograms were stored in the inhomogeneously broadened F-7(0)-D-5(0) transition of the crystal by wavelength multiplexing at a temperature of 2.5 K. Each hologram occupied a narrow spectral channel of around 500 kHz and was separated from its adjacent channels by only around 700 kHz. Both the recording and playback of the holograms were performed at a speed of 30 frames s(-1) with the use of a 100 mW cw laser. The experimental results project an achievable frame transfer speed in excess of 13x10(3) frames s(-1). Implications of the results for high-speed digital data storage are discussed.