ZECH - Future Direction of Opt Data Storage - MediaTech LGB 10-2006 (Rev 03)-LR

8/6/2019 ZECH - Future Direction of Opt Data Storage - MediaTech LGB 10-2006 (Rev 03)-LR

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The Future Direction of

Optical Data StorageTechnologies and Challenges in the 21Technologies and Challenges in the 21stst CenturyCentury

Media-Tech 2006 Long BeachLong Beach, California

October 10-11, 2006

< by >

Richard G. Zech, Ph.D.Consultant & Expert Witness - Computer Storage & Photonics

President & Managing PrincipalThe ADVanced ENTerprises (ADVENT) Group

Colorado Springs, CO 80906

(719) 633-4377 v [email protected]
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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October10, 2006 The ADVanced ENTerprises (ADVENT) GroupThe ADVanced ENTerprises (ADVENT) Group 22

AbstractAbstract

The advent of blue-laser (405nm) optical storage in the form of BD, HD DVD,

holographic memories, and UDO would seem to signal the end of optical

storage's technology life. But, in fact, the future of optical storage is still

very bright. Once theoretical methods of capacity growth, such as multi-

layer, multi-level, near-field, and holographic are ready to enter the productmainstream. The engineering challenges of these advanced recording

methods on lasers, media, optical pickups, servos, and read/write channels

will be significant, but achievable. One can confidently predict the future of

opt ical storage wil l be 120-130mm disc media with capacities in the 100 GB

to 1 TB range.


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ContentContent

Part 1 - Introduction

Part 2 - Near term Futures

Part 3 - Bleeding Edge Futures

Part 4 - Some Enabling Components Part 5 - Replication and Disc Manufacturing

Part 6 - The Bottom line

Part 7 - Appendices


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Part 1Part 1

Introduction


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Common Sense

Optical data storage is subject toShannons channel capacity law:

C = Nxlog2

(1+S/N), where N is a function ofand NA and S/N of media quality.

In English, you cant put 10 lbs ofpolycarbonate in a 1 lb polyethylenesack.

I cant, and neither can anyone else.


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I started

research in

optical

storage at

an early age.


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The ODS Product Technology Cycle


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Optical Storage's Moore's Law

source: Unaxis


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Classical Optical StorageClassical Optical Storage -- IIIs the end of the technology line in sight?Is the end of the technology line in sight?

Laser diode (LD) wavelengths () have reached theend of the visible spectrum at 405nm.

Conventional objective lens have reached the limit

of usable numerical apertures (NAs). Spot size is a function of/NA; shorters and

bigger NAs yield smaller spot diameters and higherareal densities.

The technology life appears ended - but wait! Thisis only true for linear thinking and design.


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Classical Optical StorageClassical Optical Storage -- 22Is the end of the technology line in sight?Is the end of the technology line in sight?

For fixed at 405nm, classical optical storage can increasecapacity in several ways, alone or in combination.

Architecture Examples: Multi layer Discs (MLD); 2-N surfaces.

MultiLevel Recording (MLR); replicated, phase change. Near-Field Recording (NFR); read-only and write/read. Fluorescent Multi layer Disc (FMD); read and record.

Attractive Combinations :

MLD + MLR (25-50 GB/surface x 2.5 ML gain x N surfacesor 250-500 GB/120mm disc). NFR + MLR + MLD (50-200 GB/surface x 2.5 ML gain x 1-2

surfaces or 125 GB - 1 TB/120mm disc).


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Part 2Part 2

Near Term Futures


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Today + 5 years Technologies

Multilayer Recordin g Increases capacity withou t requirin g a correspond ing increase in areal density. 8-layer discs wit h 200 GB capacity demonst rated by TDK and Philips using Blu-ray layers. Increases optic al media manufacturing and replication complexity significantly.

UDO 30 GB cartridges shippin g today; 60 GB cartridges expected in 2007. A blue-laser concept, but no t Blu-ray (computer application oriented). Roadmap capacity t o 120 GB/cartridge.

Near-field Recording (NFR) Multipli es effective NA. Maximizes areal density and surface capacity. Trades MLD disc manufactu ring comp lexity for opt ical head-disc in terface complexity.

MultiLevel Recording (MLR) Provides a practical 2.5x mult iplier p er layer (8 levels). Can be implemented with a single DSP; not too expensive. Works with any o ptical storage recording t echnology.

3-D Holographic Memories (Holomems) - Disc Architectures Deliverable products by end of 2006 after 43 years of R&D. Mainly professional AV storage, archiving , some general applications . Only two real players: InPhase Techno logies & Optware (Japan).

Fluorescent Mult ilayer Disc (FMD) Great concept (disc rete layer 3-D storage), but some inherent p roblems. Need some heavyweight funding fo r product development. Excellent HDTV playback demonstrated for 6-layer di sc (red laser).


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a) Multilayer Disc


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BluBlu--ray Disc Standard Referenceray Disc Standard Reference

Source: Philips


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BluBlu--ray Disc Roadmapray Disc Roadmap

Source: TDKSource: TDK


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b) UDO


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UDOUDO -- The Other BlueThe Other Blue--laser Disclaser Disc

UDO = Ultra Density Optical (a Plasmon plc product) Original design by Sony as successor to 5.25" MO.

Designed for computer applications (-R and -RW).

30 GB cartr idge media (2-sided phase change disc). ANSI-standard 5.25" MO disc cartridge; jukebox

ready.


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Source: Plasmon plc


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Source: Plasmon plc

MSFB = mean (cartridge) swaps between failures.


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c) Near-field Recording


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NearNear--Field Recording with VSALsField Recording with VSALs

(source: Lucent Technologies)

NEAR FIELD

Near Field

d / 2

d

Near-Field image of 60 nm

marks written by near-fieldcompared with Far-Field

VSAL = Very Small Aperture LaserAperture Size Determines Resolution -- Independent ofLaser Wavelength.Exceptionally Small Spot Sizes -- 60nm spots (134Gb/in2)demonstrated in MO material.Beam of any shape demonstrated -- Improves performance& design flexibility.


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d) MultiLevel Technology

MultiLevel (ML) is not a product, but aperformance-enhancement technology.

Fixed-size data cells support 8 reflection levels(variable areas) on a dye-polymer (-R) or phasechange (-RW) recording layer. Yields about 2.5bits per cell in practice (not the theoretical 3).

The enabler is a proprietary DSP chip (core IC)

ML-enhanced drives and media work for CD/DVDand Blue-laser formats. Should work for all disc

formats. 60GB per 120mm Blue Disc lab demonstrated

(Calimetrics, now part of LSI Logic, and Philips research project).


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e) Holomems


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Holographic Memories (Holomems)Holographic Memories (Holomems)


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Holographic MemoriesHolographic Memories -- HistoryHistory

Original concept by P.J. van Heerden (Polaroid) in 1963, based on D. Gabors wavefront reconstruction (holography). Generally agreed to be impractical by 1975. Over 50 companies worldwide have invested in and abandoned the technology

(1965-2005). The early 1990s saw a resurgence in interest; for example, DARPAs

HDSS/PRISM program helped to greatly advanced the art.

The no moving parts (random access) BORAM model has been abandoned infavor of the (direct access) optical disc model. Advances in lasers, storage media, photodetector arrays (PDAs), spatial light

modulators (SLMs), hologram stacking methods, data coding, and signalprocessing have made 300GB 130mm discs feasible today.

Todays leading companies are InPhase Technologies and Optware (Japan). After more than 40 years of R&D, holographic memories (holomems) appear on

the threshold of commercial viability for a limited set of applications; forexample, general archiving and digital video storage. Holomems are not suitablefor consumer electronics applications today. However, they can effectivelysupport the creation and delivery processes.


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Pros and Cons of HolomemsPros and Cons of Holomems

Pros Parallel write/read of large data pages (1024 x 1024 pixels common).

3D stacking of holograms in a common volume (increases 2D arealstorage density by a factor of 1,000x, or more).

Simple read mechanisms, which reconstruct each data page

independently (ideally, with no crosstalk).Cons Complex system designs.

Demanding storage media requirements.

Lack of infrastructure (photonic components challenging; optical

communications applications have driven lower pricing, volume, andreliability).

Expensive hardware ($15,000 drives) compared to competing storagetechnologies (disc media competit ive at $120/cartridge).


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IBM Demon 2IBM Demon 2

Holomem DemonstratorHolomem Demonstrator

source: IBM Almaden Labs


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Optware Holomem ProductsOptware Holomem Products

Optware tabletop exhibit at ODS 2004Optware tabletop exhibit at ODS 2004 (source: ADVENT)(source: ADVENT)


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InPhase Technologies Prototype

Holomem Drive and Disc Cartridge

source: InPhase Technologies


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InPhase TechnologiesInPhase Technologies

Holomem Drive SchematicHolomem Drive Schematic

HWP = half wave plate SLM = spatial light modulatorHWP = half wave plate SLM = spatial light modulator source: InPhase Technologiessource: InPhase Technologies

(record optical path) (read optical path)


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InPhase Holomem Recordable Technology "Roadmap"InPhase Holomem Recordable Technology "Roadmap"

1.51.51.5Material Thickness (mm)

407

100

700,000

1696x1710

1200x1200

1st

0.65

1,600

2560 Gb/in2

960 Mbits/s

2010

7050Laser power (mW)

350,000176,000Camera sensitivity (Counts/(J/m2))

1696x17101280x1024PDA Pixels

407407Wavelength (nm)

0.650.65NA of object beam

2nd2ndBragg Null

800300Estimated Capacity (raw GB)

1200x12001280x1024SLM Pixels

12800 Gb/in2

640 Mbits/s

480 Gb/in2

160 Mbits/s

Effective Areal Density

Raw Data Rate

20082005Specs

Original table from InPhase; edited down by the author - capacity points for 130mm discs added.


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source: Maxell


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f) Fluorescent Multilayer Disc (FMD)

5-100 storage layers on a substrate (claimed; about 20 actual)

Read signal generated by laser-induced linear or non-linear fluorescence

Minimal interaction between layers (adequate signal and SNR)

Gives optical storage equivalent HDD multiple discs per spindle capability

No standards issues (works with CD, DVD, and BD/HD DVD media formats) Read Only, Write Once, and ReWritable storage modes are possible

Drives are feasible (may need dynamic aberration correction)

Disc manufacturing is complex, likely to be expensive initially, but feasible

Inventor C3D went out of business, but is back as D Data Inc (New York).


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Part 3Part 3

Bleeding Edge Futures


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Today + 10Today + 10--15 years Technologies15 years Technologies

3-D Holomems with BORAM (block-oriented random access memory)Architectures UV disc (continuation of the classical optical roadmap - need UV laser

diodes)

X-ray disc (digital holography)

Atomic/Molecular(data storage by means of configuration or quantumstate) Biological (biorhodopsin and similar; brain simulation) Some enabling means:

negative refraction (smaller spots, flat lenses) variable focus lenses MEMS (e.g., DMM) nanotech (e.g., self assembly, patterned media) nanophotonics (e.g., modulators, lasers, gratings) photonic sieves (for far UV and X-ray spot formation)


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UltravioletUltraviolet OpticalOptical StorageStorage

Does optical storage end with = 405nm?

Not i f the technology is extended into the near and mid-range ultravio let (UV).

Diagnosis: UV optical storage will be far more challengingthan near-IR and visible optical storage was.

Front surface recording layer and reflection component OPU

(optical pickup unit). Prognosis: within 5 years optical storage at = 325nm

(frequency doubled 650nm) will be feasible. The technology wil l"burn out" before reaching = 202.5nm (frequency doubled405nm).

The trade offs involve a 4x increase in areal density for =202.5nm, versus the complexity and cost of UV components. Much of UV optical storage technology can/wil l be adapted

from semiconductor l ithography.


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UVUV OpticalOptical Storage ChallengesStorage Challenges

UV laser diodes

UV optical components

UV recording media

Design cost and complexity

Mastering and replication processes

Development costs

Killer application motivation


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UV Laser DiodesUV Laser Diodes

UV laser diode technology is in i ts infancy.

Very few commercial products are available.

Nichia is shipping a 20mW CW (100mW pulsed), 375nm product.

DPSS (diode-pumped solid state) lasers, which can befrequency t ripled or quadrupled, must be greatly reduced in

size and cost to be candidates.

Other options to UV laser diodes and DPSS (for example,KrF or F2) have no possibili ty of meeting size and costrequirements.

Nanotech may hold the key to long-term prospects. Bottom Line: UV laser diodes are in about the same position

as blue lasers in 1995. Solutions are 3-5 years out.


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UV Semiconductor LasersUV Semiconductor Lasers


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XX--RayRay OpticalOptical StorageStorage

WRITE

Concept designed for x-radiation with < 1nm

1D or 2D computer-generated FT Holograms

Select page size (N or NxN) and offset angle

Compute and sample analog interference pattern

Apply Data Coding and EDAC Modulate and Scan Write Spot

READ

Parallel read by means of holographic reconstruction

Posit ion read beam over hologram Project N or N x N pixels onto Photodetector Array

Process and Format Serial Data Stream


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The Challenges No compact, safe, inexpensive X-ray laser.

All optics must generally be reflective.

No compact photodetector arrays.

New mastering (write) and replication methods required.The Advantages

No page composer (SLM) required.

No 3D media and incoherent superposition (stacking) of

hologram pages required. Can apply method to all media formats (disc, card, or tape).

Read servo requirements about the same as todays DVD.


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Performance Potential

Assume a disc format; 50 mm diameterand a recording area of 1600mm2.

Areal Density = 1/(2F#)2

For = 0.5nm and F# = 2, = 250Gb/mm2 (160Tb/in2)

C = 50TB (30-40TB user)

Access Time = same as DVD-ROM drive

Read Data Rate = F(# of pixels, readpower, detector sensitivity, scan speed);could achieve 50Gbps.


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StateState--ofof--thethe--Art XArt X--Ray LaserRay Laser

A FreeA Free--Electron Laser (FEL)Electron Laser (FEL)Some engineering required to make suitable for optical storage aSome engineering required to make suitable for optical storage applicationspplications

Source: Un. of Hamburg


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Part 4Part 4

Some Enabling Components


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A Few ExamplesA Few ExamplesNegative Refraction

Variable Focus LensesGrating Light Valves

Photon Sieves


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Negative RefractionNegative Refraction

normalrefraction

negative

refraction


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source: Physics Today (December 2003)source: Physics Today (December 2003)

a) negative refraction b) normal (positive) refraction


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source: JB Pendry, Imperial College (April 2000)source: JB Pendry, Imperial College (Apri l 2000)


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Variable Focus LensesVariable Focus Lenses


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source: http://physicsweb.org (Feb 3 2006)source: http://physicsweb.org (Feb 3 2006)
http://physicsweb.org/http://physicsweb.org/http://physicsweb.org/http://physicsweb.org/http://physicsweb.org/


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source: Photonics Spectra, March 01 , 2005


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Grating Light Valve (MOEMS device)Grating Light Valve (MOEMS device)

source: Silicon Light Machines


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The minimum finger deflection is 0.002nm; the device dynamic range provides 4096 intensity levels.



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Photon SievePhoton SieveA means for focusing UV and XA means for focusing UV and X--ray beams to small spotsray beams to small spots

source: http://www.photonsieve.de/source: http://www.photonsieve.de/
http://www.photonsieve.de/http://www.photonsieve.de/http://www.photonsieve.de/http://www.photonsieve.de/http://www.photonsieve.de/


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Photon SievePhoton SieveIntensity profile of the photon sieve is on the left;Intensity profile of the photon sieve is on the left;

its Gaussian counterpart is on the right.its Gaussian counterpart is on the right.

source: http://www.photonsieve.de/http://www.photonsieve.de/
http://www.photonsieve.de/http://www.photonsieve.de/http://www.photonsieve.de/http://www.photonsieve.de/http://www.photonsieve.de/


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Part 5Part 5

Replication and DiscManufacturing


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Mastering & ReplicationMastering & Replication The future of optical disc storage will ultimately be determined by disc

mastering and replication processes.

Near-UV mastering and modified replication processes already exist andare proven. Phase transi tion mastering using a 405nm laser and a highlynon-linear photoresist (inorganic) looks promising for BD.

For C > 100GB per layer per 120mm disc, extreme UV or e-beammastering machines (EBMM) may be required.

EBMM have already achieved 50nm wide pits (DVD uses 300nm); 15nm

features are feasible. Molding processes that preserve the fine structure of the stamping

master will be a challenge for ultra-high density optical discs. Newmold ing materials may be needed.

Bonding should be eliminated, if possible; 2P processes should beavoided, if possible.

100GB (recordable/rewritable) and 200GB (read-only) per layer for120mm disc have been demonstrated at the research level. TDK andSharp, for example, have demonstrated 8-layer/25 GB per layer (BD) 200GB and 2-layer/50 GB per layer (not BD) 100 GB optical disc capacities,respectively. Mastering and replication in a production environment hasyet to be demonstrated.


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Optical Disc MasteringOptical Disc Mastering-- AFM ImagesAFM Images

(source: Optical Disc Corporation)


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This method wasdeveloped by Plasmon inthe mid-1980s to masterits moths eye write-once optical disc. Asimple interferometer(argon laser = 488nm)was used. Betweenexposures, the masterdisc was rotated by 90degrees. This alsoprovided an earlyexample of patternedmedia.

Challenges & Opportunit ies forChallenges & Opportunities for


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Challenges & Opportunit ies forChallenges & Opportunities forthe Optical Media Industrythe Optical Media Industry

The technology and equipment for CD and DVD is proven and mature.Most of the key problems for BD and HD DVD have been solved. Thatwas the easy part.

Optical media in the next generations will be more complex. Requiredyield, throughput, and quality will be harder to achieve, regardless of thefuture technology winner(s).

The cost and complexity of processes and equipment and the unit cost

of media will increase, perhaps significantly in some cases. A majorchallenge to the industry is to prevent or minimize this. New or modified processes, manufacturing equipment, and quality

control methods will be required for MLD, holographic, and NFR media. More sophisticated and complex in-line and off-line test and

measurement equipments will be required.

The cost of R&D will increase significantly; expect to hire more materialsscientists, chemists, and physicists. On the positive side, new opportunities are plentiful, and provide a

natural evolutionary path. On the negative side, a fini te probabi lity existsthat increasing the capacity optical s torage media may well become tooexpensive (diminishing economic returns).


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Part 6Part 6

The Bottom Line

S CS d C l i


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Summary and ConclusionsSummary and Conclusions

Existing optical storage technologies still have at least a 10-year usefulproduct life cycle. However, classical optical storage will have reachedthe end of its technology l ife by then.

Future products will primarily be the blue-disc progeny of Blu-ray Disc. Optical storage 5-10 years f rom today wil l be provided mainly by evolved

versions of todays proven technologies. Over the 10 year hor izon, optical storage will likely be provided by a

mixture of todays evolving and future technologies. Displacementtechnologies cannot be ruled out.

Optical storage will continue to dominate the removable-media AVapplications sector in consumer electronics. "HDTV" playback andrecording and personal storage applications wil l be the dominantapplications.

Optical storage 10+ years from today will likely be provided by a mixture

of todays evolving and future technologies.

Bottom Line: Although facing many challenges and competitors, thefuture of optical storage for the next 10 years is still very bright.


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A RecommendationA Recommendation

The Media-Tech Association should form astanding commit tee of members and selectednon-members to:

1) Create an optical storage roadmap to track the

evolution of optical storage and relatedtechnologies and components, as they relate tooptical media manufacturing and replication.

2) Publish an annual report on key findings.

3) Review the key results at the annual Frankfurt andLong Beach meetings.


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Part 7Part 7

Appendices

< A di A >< Appendi A >


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< Appendix A >< Appendix A >

ReferencesReferences

1) "Challenges and Opportunities of Optical Recording," Dr. Di Chen, Chen &Associates, Proc. Of SPIE, Vol. 5966, September 15, 2005.

2) "Relevant Technologies for Future Generations of Optical Data Storage," Prof. M.Mansuripur (Optical Sciences Center, Un. of Arizona), Media-Tech Conference,Hollywood, CA, August 31, 2004.

3) "Optical Recording at 1 Tb/in2," Prof. T. D. Milster, (Optical Sciences Center, Un. ofArizona), THIC Meeting, Louisville, CO, July 22-23, 2003.

Some of Dick Zech's papers:

Volume Hologram Optical Memories: Mass Storage Future Perfect?, Optics andPhotonics News, August 1992, pp. 16-25.

Where do we go from here? Digital Media Futures for Consumer Electronics,Diskcon 2002, September 17-19, 2002, San Jose, CA.

UV Futures for Optical Disc (Whats Next for DVD after Blu-ray?), adapted fromthe International Storage Industry Consortium (INSIC) 2003 Conference on theFuture of Optical Data Storage, San Francisco, CA, January 23-25, 2003.

Technology Analysis: Optical Storage Futures - The Consumer ElectronicsPerspective," IIST Workshop XVII, Asilomar Conference on Computer Storage,

Monterrey, CA, December 2003. The 2005-15 Roadmap: Optical Storage for Consumer Electronics," An ADVENT

Special Report, December 2004.

Copies in PDF format available upon request by e-mail to [email protected].
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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< Appendix B >< Appendix B >

About the AuthorAbout the Author

Dr. Dick Zech has nearly 40 years of computer storage and photonics experience. Hisacademic focus was on modern optics, electromagnetic theory, communications theory,advanced mathematics, and the chemistry/physics of optical materials. His doctoraldissertation was entitled "Data Storage in Volume Holograms (supervised by Prof. Emmett N.Leith at the University of Michigan). His primary expertise is in the fields of optical datastorage, holography, recording media, and optical disc replication processes and technology.His main in terests are data storage; lasers; materials physics , chemistry and processes;control and positioning of light beams; and photonic components and their integration intofully functional information processing sys tems. Much of Dicks early work (1965-1979) wasfor the US Department of Defense, NASA and various intell igence agencies. The primary goalof this work was to use photon ics technology for the rapid acquisition, processing, storageand communication of data vital to national defense and the space program (includ ingholographic wideband recorders and BORAM holographic memories) . In addition, Dick alsohas signif icant engineering, product and business development, and sales and marketingmanagement experience, which he has used as a consultant for the past 18 years. Since 1990

he has worked as an expert witness in numerous patent infr ingement litigations (and a fewinvolving breach of contract and theft of trade secrets) and evaluated over 200 patents fortechnical and economic merit. Among his inventions are the projected real-image Lippmann-Bragg hologram, volume manufacturing methods for holograms, and the multi-channel opticaldisc recorder (DIGIMEM). He has published over 150 papers, reports , and presentations.

Documents

ZECH - Future Direction of Opt Data Storage - MediaTech LGB 10-2006 (Rev 03)-LR