General Electric has announced a breakthrough in optical storage technology, saying its researchers have developed a holographic disc which can store the equivalent of 100 DVDs. "GE's breakthrough is a huge step toward bringing our next generation holographic storage technology to the everyday consumer," Brian Lawrence, the head of GE's Holographic Storage programme, said in a statement.GE Global Research, the company's technology research arm, said the standard DVD-size holographic disc can support 500 gigabytes of storage capacity, equal to 100 DVDs or 20 single-layer Blu-ray discs.
It said the holographic discs will eventually be able to be read and record on systems similar to a typical Blu-ray or DVD player.
While DVDs and Blu-ray discs store information only on the surface of the disc, GE's micro-holographic technology uses three-dimensional holograms to increase the amount of storage capacity.
"Because GE's micro-holographic discs could essentially be read and played using similar optics to those found in standard Blu-ray players, our technology will pave the way for cost-effective, robust and reliable holographic drives that could be in every home," Lawrence said.
GE said it has been working on holographic storage technology for more than six years.
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