A new type of holographic memory device has been demonstrated by researchers from the University of California, Riverside Bourns College of Engineering and Russian Academy of Science. The device has the ability to provide extraordinary data storage capacity and data processing capabilities in electronic devices.

The new device uses spin waves instead of the optical beams. Spin waves are a collective oscillation of spins in magnetic materials. As these spin wave devices are compatible with the conventional electronic devices and can also function at a much shorter wavelength than optical devices. The spin waves have gained importance as their unique features allow smaller electronic devices to store large amount of data.

Experimental results obtained by the team illustrates that it is practically possible to apply holographic techniques to create a magnetic holographic memory device. The research combines the advantageous features of the magnetic data storage and the wave-based information transfer.

Alexander Khitun, the lead researcher, who is a research professor at UC Riverside said, "The results open a new field of research, which may have tremendous impact on the development of new logic and memory devices".

Holography is a technique which is based on the wave nature of light and permits the use of wave interference between the object beam and the coherent background.

The findings are described in a paper named 'Magnonic Holographic Memory' and the findings have been submitted for publication in the journal Applied Physics Letters.

The paper is written by three co-authors namely Frederick Gertz, a graduate student who works with Khitun at UC Riverside along with A. Kozhevnikov and Y. Filimonov of the Russian Academy of Sciences.