Analysts at market research firm iSuppli got together for a brainstorming meeting on what could be hot new technologies and have come up with an absolute corkers: optical 3D protein memory. This is a volumetric type memory which is three dimensional and could give as much as 1000-fold increase in storage capacity compared to current technology, according to senior analyst Bill Bernard.
The technology uses a photosensitive protein which has some similarities to proteins in the human retina. Transformed into a gel block, one side is accessed by a laser blade, effectively creating a slice through the substance. The block's front is lit by a digital laser light pattern composed of dark and light spots. So when these two laser blocks are intersected, it gives a recordable or read back of that particular slice of protein, said Bernard.
He adds that the read back is optically detected by a charge couple device which senses the light and dark areas which are created through differential light absorbtion. The first laser can then slice a different section.
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