Three-dimensional optical bit memory in Sm(DBM)₃Phen-doped and un-doped poly(methyl methacrylate)

The feasibility of three-dimensional optical bit memory is demonstrated by using the change of fluorescence and refractive index in Sm(DBM) ₃Phen-doped and un-doped Poly(methyl methacrylate). After a femtosecond pulsed laser irradiation, a refractive-index bit and a fluorescent bit can be formed at the same position inside the bulk sample. Multilayer patterns recorded by tightly focusing the pulsed laser beam were read out by a reflection-type fluorescent confocal microscope, which can detect the reflection signal and also the fluorescent signal of the stored bits. The signal-to-noise ratio via the two retrieval modes was compared as a function of recording depth. The stored bits were retrieved with a high signal-to-noise ratio in the absence of any crosstalk and the detection of the fluorescent signal enables retrieval of the stored bits with a higher S/N ratio.