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Computer memory based on the protein
bacterio-rhodopsin
With existing methods fast approaching their limits, it is no wonder that
a number of new storage technologies are developing. Currently, researches
are looking at protien-based memory to compete with the speed of
electronic memory, the reliability of magnetic hard-disks, and the
capacities of optical/magnetic storage. We contend that three-dimensional
optical memory devices made from bacteriorhodopsin utilizing the two
photon read and write-method is such a technology with which the future of
memory lies.
In a prototype memory system, bacteriorhodopsin stores data in a 3-D
matrix. The matrix can be build by placing the protein into a cuvette (a
transparent vessel) filled with a polyacrylamide gel. The protein, which
is in the bR state, gets fixed in by the polymerization of the gel. A
battery of Krypton lasers and a charge-injection device (CID) array
surround the cuvette and are used to write and read data.
While a molecule changes states within microseconds, the combined steps to
read or write operation take about 10 milliseconds. However like the
holographic storage, this device obtains data pages in parallel, so a 10
Mbps is possible. This speed is similar to that of slow semiconductor
memory
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