Stimulated Emission Depletion Nanoscopic 3D Optical Data Storage

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AbstractThis award is funded under the American recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).The objective of this program is to investigate tandem two-photon absorption (2PA) stimulated emission depletion (STED) processes for high density, nanoscopic write-once read-many (WORM) 3D optical data storage (ODS).The intellectual merit is developing a fundamental understanding of the application and limitations of two-photon STED for 3D spatially-localized photoacid production and sub-80 nm voxel formation (data encoding), understanding the application and limitations of two-photon STED for sub-80 nm voxel 3D readout of a protonated 2PA fluorophore, and developing an integrated double STED-based two-photon 3D ODS prototype.The broader impacts of the proposed research are far reaching, affecting nearly all aspects of US society. The interdisciplinary nature of optical data storage (ODS), coupled with its omnipresence, presents a unique opportunity to educate and train undergraduate, graduate, middle, and high school students, along with their teachers, and the general public, in the science that underlies current and future ODS technologies. Undergraduate and graduate students involved in this project will gain an integrated understanding of advanced photonics, photophysics, and materials chemistry. Students that are traditionally underrepresented in science and engineering will be engaged in this interdisciplinary research, facilitating the preparation of a highly skilled and diverse workforce.The proposed research is transformative and expected to lead to a break though in 3D optical data storage, affording unprecedented 3D optical data storage densities (up to 1 terabyte per cubic mm). Knowledge gained in this research will provide the tenets for future photonic materials and systems design.