ABSTRACT
Judging by the number of papers published on the subject, one might imagine that the processing, storage and retrieval of data constituted the most important area in holography. Perhaps this is because many other important applications of holography have been researched more or less to finality, so that less remains to be done in these areas. But a study of the numerous papers on data storage published in the past five or so years reveals a great deal of duplication of work, and often a shortage of worthwhile content camouflaged in a thicket of mathematics and jargon. The first part of this chapter attempts to cut through some of the arcane language and describe the background, aims, and practical applications of techniques for data storage and retrieval by holographic methods. The remainder of the chapter goes into more detail concerning methods and applications.
