Gated spectral hole-burning for frequency domain optical recording

Materials exhibiting persistent spectral hole-burning via a gated mechanism are promising candidates for the development of frequency domain optical storage densities beyond 109 bits/cm2. Gated hole-burning requires a secondary gating field for writing, permitting nondestructive reading in the absence of this field. Properties of gated hole-burning materials suited for a practical storage system are analyzed with particular attention to the required values of absorption cross section, density of centers, and effective hole-burning yield. The results permit evaluation of the usefulness of particular gated hole-burning materials for storage applications. Some general guidelines for photon-gated mechanisms using three-level and four-level systems are presented. © 1986.