Oxide Glasses for Holographic Data Storage

Novel photochromic oxide glasses are presented in this section. These glasses are based on phosphate formers containing both tungsten and antimony atoms. Exposure to visible continuous or pulsed laser beam results in an intense photochromic effect witch is shown to occur in the volume of the glass and results in a broad absorption band in the visible and near infrared. This effect was not identified to be related with a structural change and is assumed to be entirely electronic. A change in the absorption coefficient is observed in function of tungsten content, exposure time and increases with beam power. These glasses have been investigated regarding the possibility of holographic data storage using visible lasers sources. Changes in both refractive index and the absorption coefficient were measured using a holographic setup. The modulation of the optical constants is reversible by heat treatment.