US 12,406,695 B1
Differential phase voxel symbol determination
Tuomo Antero von Lerber, Helsinki (FI); Simo Kaarlo Tapani Tammela, Espoo (FI); Anton Viljami Autere, Järvenpää (FI); Birgit Siviä Debora Päivänranta, Espoo (FI); Philip Athelstan Wainman, Cambridge (GB); Krista Anna Alice Paasonen, Espoo (FI); Esa Tapani Räikkönen, Espoo (FI); and Antti Pekka Virolainen, Helsinki (FI)
Assigned to MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING, LLC, Redmond, WA (US)
Filed by Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC, Redmond, WA (US)
Filed on Jun. 26, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/755,584.
Int. Cl. G11B 7/013 (2006.01)
CPC G11B 7/013 (2013.01) 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for optically reading data, the method comprising:
providing an optical storage medium having a plurality of voxels located therein, the voxels storing a plurality of corresponding symbols for digitally encoding data, in which the optical storage medium comprises a three-dimensional transparent volume through which light is transmissible from an entrance of the volume to an exit of the volume, and in which a voxel is a light-scattering element in the volume;
focusing a probe light beam at a first point within the volume, the probe light beam propagating in the volume from entrance to exit along a probe light beam propagation path, and in which the probe light beam has a first polarization state at the entrance to the volume;
focusing a reference light beam at a second point within the volume, the reference light beam propagating in the volume from entrance to exit along a reference light beam propagation path, and in which the reference light beam has a second polarization state at the entrance of the volume that is orthogonal to the first polarization state, and wherein the probe and reference light beams propagation paths are at least partly spatially overlapping within the volume; and
receiving, at an optical reader, the probe and reference light beams at the exit from the volume, the optical reader producing a first intensity signal containing contributions from both the probe and reference light beams.