Abstract: Bacteriorhodopsin protein variants and methods using the bacteriorhodopsin variants for performance in holographic and three-dimensional (3D) memory storage devices are described. The amino acid and chemical modifications of bacteriorhodopsin provided herein achieve greatly enhanced protein performance. The memory storage devices write, read and erase data proficiently. The bacteriorhodopsin protein variants are useful in optical memory storage and associative processor systems. Irradiation of the light-sensitive protein with light of known wavelength causes the protein to switch between different states. The variants enter the branched photocycle via a single or a two photon process and form the permanent ‘Q’ state more efficiently than the wild-type bacteriorhodopsin protein. This branching photocycle of the variants is exploited in the fabrication of 3D memory storage devices.

Abstract: Bacteriorhodopsin protein variants and methods using the bacteriorhodopsin variants for performance in holographic and three-dimensional (3D) memory storage devices are described. The amino acid and chemical modifications of bacteriorhodopsin provided herein achieve greatly enhanced protein performance. The memory storage devices write, read and erase data proficiently. The bacteriorhodopsin protein variants are useful in optical memory storage and associative processor systems. Irradiation of the light-sensitive protein with light of known wavelength causes the protein to switch between different states. The variants enter the branched photocycle via a single or a two photon process and form the permanent ‘Q’ state more efficiently than the wild-type bacteriorhodopsin protein. This branching photocycle of the variants is exploited in the fabrication of 3D memory storage devices.