Holograms Can Store Terabytes, But Where?

Holographic data storage offers the promise of vastly greater storage densities and readout speeds of up to a gigabit per second. But it remains a method without an ideal medium, because the materials used have lacked crucial properties. Now researchers are having some success working with existing materials such as lithium niobate, as well as developing new materials with ideal combinations of properties, such as photorefractive polymers, photochromic materials, and photopolymers.