INPHASE TECHNOLOGIES TO USE CMOS CAMERA CHIP FROM CYPRESS FOR
FIRST COMMERCIAL HOLOGRAPHIC STORAGE DRIVE
Ultrasensitive Chip Provides High-Speed Data
Read-Out at 500 Frames per Second; Critical to Next-Generation Digital Archive
Solutions for Broadcasters
FOR RELEASE ON: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2005
AMSTERDAM -- InPhase Technologies, the leader in holographic data
storage drive and media development, today announced that it will use a
high-speed custom complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) camera chip
developed by Cypress Semiconductor Corp., for the world's first holographic
storage drive. The InPhase TapestryTM drive, a breakthrough in data storage that
has now reached prototype phase, will be demonstrated publicly in Europe for the
first time at the International Broadcasters Conference (IBC) in Amsterdam,
September 9-13 in the Hitachi Denshi/Maxell stand, 11.730. InPhase demonstrated
the Tapestry prototype at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB)
conference in Las Vegas last April.
The Cypress chip, an ultrasensitive
and ultrafast CMOS image sensor, will enable high-speed reading of data (at 500
frames per second) recorded by the InPhase Tapestry drive. The InPhase prototype
demonstrates a new generation of storage - well beyond DVD, magnetic tape and
disk - which capitalizes on the company's leadership position in both
holographic drive and media development. The Cypress chip will provide a
critical final piece to the development of the Tapestry drive.
The
initial InPhase Tapestry product will hold 300 gigabytes (GB) of data with a
transfer rate of 20 megabytes (MB) per second '“ ideal for high-definition
recording. The InPhase Tapestry media and drive provide customers with access to
huge amounts of data on a single disk. InPhase is targeting archive needs in
commercial markets such as professional video, regulatory compliance, medical
imaging, satellite imaging, and scientific applications where the need for
long-term, secure and costeffective archives of massive amounts of digital data
is a critical issue.
'We are literally redefining how information is
stored and read for the next generation of recording devices, and the addition
of Cypress's imaging expertise to the development of the first holographic drive
is critical," said Nelson Diaz, CEO of InPhase. 'We believe that this new
architecture will help speed the development of new classes of devices that rely
on holographic recording '“ whether for cameras, video recorders or editing
systems."
Cypress's broad CMOS image sensor portfolio spans both the
high-end and consumer mass markets. Cypress delivers high-performance sensors
for custom and high-end digital photography; ultra high-speed imaging solutions
for automotive safety, machine vision and motion analysis; and consumer-oriented
solutions for ultra-slim digital still cameras, single-use cameras and
camera-enabled mobile devices.
'The next generation of imaging products
will require massive amounts of storage, in small form factors, and we believe
that our work with InPhase on the first holographic drive will help us to
position Cypress as a leading supplier of the imaging component," said Lou
Hermans, senior marketing director for Cypress's image sensor business unit.
'The consumer and professional imaging worlds are converging, and higher-yield,
lower-cost products are required to continue the progress of optical recording.
The InPhase Tapestry drive is a seminal touchpoint in this delicate area of
technical development."
The Cypress CMOS imager features a digital
interface and is sized with a pixel count of 1696 X 1710 and a pixel pitch of 8
microns. The InPhase Tapestry drive will direct the frame of data to enable a
faster readout of information.
'The advantages offered by holographic
imaging are so phenomenal, and the technology is so revolutionary, that the
industry is only beginning to realize how massive the shift towards this new
method of recording information will be, now that InPhase has finally cracked
the previously unimagined barriers required to bring this technology to market,"
said Rick Doherty, president of Envisioneering. 'The professional broadcast
market is an ideal testing ground for holographic systems, and the reception
from this industry to holographic recording has been quite favorable."
Holographic storage delivers high capacity by recording data throughout
the volume of the recording material, and not just on the surface. A data page
of approximately 1 million bits is recorded in one flash of the laser. Each data
page is located at a unique address within the material and several hundred
pages of data, each with their own unique address, are recorded in the same
location of the medium. A collection of data pages is referred to as a book.
This new recording technique enables more holograms to be stored in the same
volume of material by overlapping not only pages, but also books of data. This
dramatically increases the storage density.
About Cypress
Cypress solutions are at the heart of any system that is built to perform:
consumer, computation, data communications, automotive, industrial, and solar
power. Leveraging a strong commitment to customer service and performance-based
process and manufacturing expertise, Cypress's product portfolio includes a
broad selection of wired and wireless USB devices, CMOS image sensors, timing
solutions, network search engines, specialty memories, high-bandwidth
synchronous and micropower memory products, optical solutions, and
reconfigurable mixed-signal arrays. Cypress stock is traded on the New York
Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol CY. More information about the company is
available online at www.cypress.com.
About
InPhase Technologies
InPhase Technologies is the leading developer of
holographic data storage (HDS) 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 venture capital investors
including New Venture Partners LLC, Signal Lake Ventures, Madison Dearborn
Partners, Newton Technology Partners, Yasuda Enterprise Development, Japan Asia
Investment Company, and Mr. B.J. Cassin. Corporate investors include Hitachi
Maxell, Ltd., Imation Corp. (NYSE: IMN), and ALPS Information Technology Fund.
For more information on InPhase, please visit the company's Web site at
www.inphase-tech.com.
Source: InPhase Technologies
