Wavelength multiplexed holographic bit oriented memories are serious competitors for high capacity data storage systems. For data recording, two interfering beams are required whereas one of them should be blocked for readout in previously proposed systems. This makes the system complex. To circumvent this difficulty and make the device simpler, the inventors validated an architecture for such memories in which the same two beams are used for recording and reading out. This balanced homodyne scheme is validated by recording holograms in a Lippmann architecture.

The inventor proposes an homodyne geometry to improve the efficiency of Lippmann data storage and simplify its architecture: the Lippmann mirror required for recording is kept in place for data retrieving.