Such a process would retrieve information in microseconds as opposed to milliseconds because the beams have no mass, Munce says. Two beams are used to create a hologram, an object beam and a reference beam. Once an image is created and stored, it can be played back through the reference beam. The hologram is stored inside the recording device. Only the reference beam is used to retrieve the data.
Holographic storage is also a reciprocal process.
Multiple holograms can be stored in the same media by multiplexing, or slightly changing the angle of the reference beam. Units of holographic information are measured in megapixels, representing a million bits of data. To play each hologram back, the user views the reference beam that created a specific image. This type of retrieval is different from the traditional address-based system. Holograms instead are located by the picture, individual word or data that best matches a logic string.