High-density three-dimensional optical data storage with photonic band-gapstructures

Based on the results of finite-difference time-domain analysis of light pro pagation in defect modes of two-dimensional photonic band-gap structures, w e propose to apply photonic crystals with lattice defects for creating thre e-dimensional optical memory devices based on photochromic (or, generally, photosensitive) materials introduced into a dielectric matrix as impurities permitting amplitude two-photon optical data storage and one- or two-photo n luminescence data reading. Numerical analysis performed in this paper sho ws that a light field in photonic band-gap structures with lattice defects can be localized in a subwavelength-size area, suggesting a new way of arra nging three-dimensional optical-memory devices. Photonic-crystal optical me mory devices make it possible to solve several fundamental problems of opti cal data storage in three dimensions, allowing one to avoid the cross talk between the neighboring writing/reading beams and to eliminate the contradi ction between a high density of the data stored in a 3D optical memory unit and the physical size of the optical memory device. The system of addressi ng and low-loss data reading in three-dimensional photonic-crystal optical- memory devices is discussed.