Optical random access memory
First Claim
1. An optical information and lens structure for an information storage system, comprising:
- storage layer for storing information in a plurality of storage regions thereof as light altering characteristics;
a lens array layer disposed adjacent said storage layer and having a plurality of juxtaposed lenslets, each formed of at least one element having an optical field of view respectively aligned with one of said storage regions on said storage layer so that each lenslet resolves light information from one of said storage regions; and
structure interposed said storage layer and said lens layer array so as to optically couple and mechanically fix said storage layer to said lens layer array to form a structural information storage and lens array unit.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An optical memory (10) is disclosed in which data is stored in an optical data layer (19) capable of selectively altering light such as by changeable transmissivity, reflectivity, polarization, and/or phase. The data is illuminated by controllable light sources (15) and an array of multi-surface imaging lenslets (21) project the image onto a common array of light sensors (27). Data is organized into a plurality of regions or patches (called pages) and by selective illumination of each data page, one of the lenslets (21) images the selected data page onto the light sensors (27). Light in the data image pattern strikes different ones of the arrayed light sensors (27), thereby outputting a pattern of binary bits in the form of electrical data signals. By selectively and sequentially illuminating different ones of the data regions (pages) on the data layer (19), correspondingly different data patterns are imaged by the corresponding lenslets (21) onto the common sensor array (27), thereby enabling many stored data pages to be retrieved by multiplexing at electro-optical speed.
85 Citations
16 Claims
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1. An optical information and lens structure for an information storage system, comprising:
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storage layer for storing information in a plurality of storage regions thereof as light altering characteristics; a lens array layer disposed adjacent said storage layer and having a plurality of juxtaposed lenslets, each formed of at least one element having an optical field of view respectively aligned with one of said storage regions on said storage layer so that each lenslet resolves light information from one of said storage regions; and structure interposed said storage layer and said lens layer array so as to optically couple and mechanically fix said storage layer to said lens layer array to form a structural information storage and lens array unit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An optical data system comprising:
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an optical memory layer for storing information as light altering characteristics and being organized into a two dimensional array of data; controllable light source for selectively illuminating portions of said optical memory layer; a data imaging lens system including memory array of lenslets disposed adjacent said optical memory layer for resolving light information from said each of said portions of said optical memory layer, said lens system forming an image of each said portion on a common image surface; a data sensor having a plurality of juxtaposed light sensing elements arrayed in two dimensions to form said common image surface for sensing data from light information images corresponding to selectively illuminated portions of said optical memory layer; and image data processor coacting with said data sensor for locating and coacting the sensed image on said data sensor to retrieve data. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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Specification