Patent ID: 7524590

Claim:
A method for storing holographic data, said method comprising: providing an optically transparent substrate comprising a photochemically active dye and a photo-acid generator; irradiating the optically transparent substrate with a holographic interference pattern, wherein the pattern has a first wavelength and an intensity both sufficient to convert, within a volume element of the substrate, at least some of the photochemically active dye into a photo-product, and producing within the irradiated volume element concentration variations of the photo-product corresponding to the holographic interference pattern, thereby producing an optically readable datum corresponding to the volume element; and irradiating the optically transparent substrate at a second wavelength and intensity sufficient to activate the photo-acid generator to stabilize the optically readable datum; wherein the photochemically active dye is a photochemically active nitrone having a structure (I): wherein R 1 is an aliphatic radical, a cycloaliphatic radical, or an aromatic radical that is capable of conjugating with the nitrone group; R 2 is hydrogen or an aliphatic radical, a cycloaliphatic radical, or an aromatic radical that is capable of conjugating with the nitrone group; and R 3 is an aliphatic radical, a cycloaliphatic radical, or an aromatic radical.