The remarkable achievements in the area of integrated optical memories and optical random access memories (RAMs) together with the rapid adoption of optical interconnects in the Datacom and Computercom industries introduce a new perspective for information storage directly in the optical domain, enabling fast access times, increased bandwidth and transparent cooperation with optical interconnect lines. This article reviews state-of-the-art integrated optical memory technologies and optical RAM cell demonstrations describing the physical mechanisms of several key devices along with their performance metrics in terms of their energy, speed and footprint. Novel applications are outlined, concluding with the scaling challenges to be addressed toward allowing light to serve as both a data-carrying and data-storage medium.

集成光学存储器和光学随机存取存储器（RAM）领域的卓越成就以及Datacom和Computercom行业中光学互连的迅速采用为直接在光学领域存储信息提供了新的视角，从而实现了快速访问，增加带宽并与光互连线进行透明合作。本文回顾了最新的集成光学存储技术和光学RAM单元演示，这些演示描述了几种关键设备的物理机制以及它们在能量，速度和占用空间方面的性能指标。概述了新颖的应用程序，同时提出了将要允许光同时用作数据承载和数据存储介质的扩展挑战。