Multilevel high-capacity optical memory

This paper discusses the results of studies of the possibility of creating a multilevel recording medium with the formation of recorded memory levels whose geometrical size increases in the propagation direction of the laser radiation into the depth of the medium. It is proposed to use films of phot osensitive dyes or chalcogenide materials that predominantly absorb light o f a definite polarization or spectral region. It is shown that it is possib le to simultaneously read out information from a multilayer recording struc ture by recording the polarization properties of the reflected laser radiat ion. The optical and geometrical parameters have been determined for a four -level recording medium based on chalcogenide materials and organic dyes. ( C) 2000 The Optical Society of America. [S1070-9762(00)00912-X].