Cypress Semiconductor is working with InPhase Technologies to supply a CMOS image sensor for its holographic data storage systems.

The CMOS imager features a digital interface and is sized with a pixel count of 1696x1710 and a pixel pitch of 8µm. The imager enables data to be read at 500 frames per second.

Holographic storage records data throughout the volume of the recording material, and not just on the surface, such as optical disks. With each flash of the laser, a data page of approximately one million bits is recorded. Each page is located at a unique address within the material and several hundred pages of data are recorded in the same location of the medium. Each of these collections of data pages is then referred to as a “book.” This enables more holograms to be stored in the same volume of material by overlapping not only pages, but also books of data.