Information Storage Materials for Holography and Optical Data Processing

This printed version of an invited paper prepared for the International Conference on Optical Information Processing, Sydney, 1974, is intended to be a condensed review on light sensitive materials and devices for making holograms and spatial filters, and a guide to recent literature. The basic requirements on the material and suitable performance criteria are discussed and illustrated with data on the current silver halide materials, including effects like complex grating formation, adjacency effects, and diffusion mottle. A survey of storage materials compares, with experimental data, silver halide emulsions, dichromated gelatin, photoresist, photopolymers, photochromic materials, electro-optical crystals, and magneto-optic materials. Finally, a number of devices for real-time spatial light modulation with optical or electrical input are presented.