U s government grant

InPhase Technologies announced recently that it was awarded a grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Advanced Technology Program (ATP) for a two-year project to develop advanced holographic recording technology leading to the commercialization of the first 1 terabyte (TB) holographic data storage system.

InPhase is the lead company in a joint venture with Displaytech, Inc., the leader in liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) microdisplays. Displaytech will develop a technology for an advanced spatial light modulator, which is a key component for recording holographic data. The $5.7 million project grant includes $2.77 million from ATP, which will be matched by funds from InPhase and Displaytech.

InPhase Technologies will develop advanced multiplexing and recording techniques that enable more holograms to be stored in the same volume, thereby dramatically increasing storage densities, data transfer rate and data fidelity. The funds will also be used to develop new servo tracking techniques to improve data transfer rate and system robustness. Researchers from the University of California at San Diego and Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, PA) will work with InPhase Technologies to integrate their signal processing expertise into the project.

InPhase introduced an early prototype of its Tapestry holographic storage system and media in 2002, and is delivering product today to OEMs for test and evaluation, ramping into volume production in 2005.

"The development of low-cost, stable, high-density, fast transfer rate digital storage recording technology is of great significance to future consumer, commercial and military/government applications, and we are grateful for the ongoing support we receive from the ATP," said Nelson Diaz, CEO of InPhase.

This grant is the second that InPhase has received from the ATP in the last year, a reflection of the U.S. government's strong, sustained commitment to ongoing research and development for key U.S. technologies, such as holographic data storage. InPhase received a $2 million grant in 2002 to develop the first commercial rewritable holographic data storage media.

InPhase Technologies is the leading developer of holographic data storage recording media and systems. Based in Longmont, Colorado, InPhase was founded in 2000 as a Lucent Technologies (NYSE:LU) venture, and is comprised of some of the storage industry's leading executives, scientists and engineers. InPhase is backed by investors including New Venture Partners LLC, Hitachi Maxell, Ltd. (HIMX.F), Imation Corp. (NYSE:IMN), Signal Lake, Madison Dearborn Partners, and Newton Technology Partners.