Nonlocal polymerization-driven diffusion-model-based examination of the scaling law for holographic data storage.

For the first time to our knowledge, a detailed theoretical basis is provided for the well-known inverse-square scaling law of holographic diffraction, which states that replay diffraction efficiency eta = gamma/M2, where M is the number of gratings stored and gamma is a constant system parameter. This law is shown to hold for photopolymer recording media governed by the predictions of the nonlocal polymerization-driven diffusion model. On the basis of the analysis, we (i) propose a media inverse scaling law, (ii) relate gamma to photopolymer material parameters and the hologram geometry and replay conditions, and (iii) comment on the form and validity of the diffraction efficiency inverse-square scaling law for higher-diffraction-efficiency gratings.