The fastest-growing sector for the use of holograms is in product authentication. The difficulty in duplicating holograms makes them an ideal means of product authentication and represents a sizable hurtle to counterfeiters. Unique holograms have also become commonplace on event tickets (usually concert or sporting event tickets).
The difficulty in reproducing holograms also has application in security and documentation. Passports, drivers licenses and other government-issued pieces of photo identification commonly employ holograms. Additionally, central banks usually employ holograms, in addition to several other methods, to counterfeit-proof national currencies. Furthermore, credit card companies have gradually added holograms to many of their cards to limit fraud.
Holography can also be applied in mass data storage, though the technology is not yet available to consumers. Unlike existing magnetic disks, holography allows multiple bits of information to be stored in the same physical area (as holographic memory uses the volume of the recording material rather than just the surface). This allows more information to be stored in a smaller space. Furthermore, the shelf life of stored holographic data is up to 50 years, whereas magnetic and optical disk storage degrades over time.
Salvador Dali was the first artist to employ holograms in his work (as shown in his 1972 New York City exhibition). Artists sought a new three-dimensional artistic language, not simply aiming to imitate sculptures through the use of holograms. However, the fad of holography in art has largely faded away.
Holographic technology is used in a variety of imaging techniques designed to reconstruct the interior of the human body. Holography is used in CAT scans, X-rays, MRIs and ultrasounds in addition to ophthalmology, endoscopy, otology and orthopedics.