Digitimes reports that optical disc manufacturer CMC Magnetics is developing holographic discs that could contain as many as 100 storage layers. According to CMC Magnetics chairman Robert Wong, the technology should be ready in about five years.
The holographic discs should be able to hold more data per disc, but the Digitimes article doesn't mention how much. The website does mention that holographic optical disc technology is similar to current Blu-ray disc technology which use 3-4 layers of data. According to Wong, the new holographic discs could have as many as 100 layers.
Holographic storage is not new, it has been in development for decades already but no company yet succeeded in making it a commercial success. In 2005, a company called InPhase Technology unveiled prototype holographic discs that could hold 300 GB to 400 GB per disc, but the company filed for bankruptcy in 2001. One of its customers would have been Japanese electronics giant Maxell which stated it would release holographic storage products based on InPhase technology by late 2006.
Although there have been various press releases from scientists, so far there hasn't been much development to bring holographic storage to the masses. It seems CMC hopes to change that.
The company likely aims for increasing demand in data centers, where internet giants continue to need more and more storage capacity.
CMC is currently the largest optical disc manufacturer, followed by Ritek.
