Data storage system having an optical processing flying head
US6034938A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 5, 1997 |
| Grant date | Mar 7, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 5, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG11B11/10569
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An optical data storage and retrieval system uses a flying head. The flying head is supported on a moving media having information stored in a plurality of stored data locations thereon. Information is stored in each of the plurality of media locations as physical structures capable of modulating the polarization state of incident light into one of two output polarization states. The flying head includes an optical processing assembly which directs an incident light beam having a source polarization state onto the moving media, accessing successive data locations. A reflected light beam having the source polarization state of the incident light beam modulated by a respective polarization modifying data location into one of the output polarization states is received by the flying head. The optical processing assembly optically transforms the modulated output polarization state of the reflected light beam into two return light beams having differentially modulated intensity related to the output polarization state of the reflected light beam. The two intensity modulated return light beams are optically coupled to a distal differential detector which outputs digital data representing …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.