Abstract

In the digital optical recording technique a considerable number of different technologies are combined into a new product: recording materials technology; optics; mechanics; servo techniques; (semiconductor) laser technology; modulation and error correction. Obviously many trade-offs are possible and necessary between those technologies to arrive at a product with specific properties in terms of data capacity and rate, access time, data integrity, and cost. Some aspects of these design considerations will be treated. We will focus specifically on a recorder using a solid-state AlGaAs laser and a pregrooved preformated disk with a single Te-alloy layer in a sandwich construction. The diode laser is chosen because it can be directly current modulated and because it allows for a compact buildup. The reasons for the pregrooved sandwich disk are its relatively low-cost provision of position information and its protection of the recording layer.

© 1983 Optical Society of America