Abstract

Organic dye/polymer high density optical recording materials designed to be written with 800-850 nm light and read out via 633 nm light or 800-850 nm light have been developed. A schematic cross section of the medium is shown in Fig. 1. The recordable dye/polymer (called Laser Write and Read or LWR material) layer is coated over a reflective metal film which is vacuum deposited on a substrate treated with a proprietary surfacer coating. Although the LWR material has only moderately high absorption at the desired recording wavelength, the interference bilayer structure shown in Fig. 1 absorbs strongly over the 800-850 nm wavelength range.¹ Steep-walled, flat-bottomed "pits" having constant depth are instantaneously formed in the upper portion of the LWR layer during recording via a complex process.² Recording sensitivity is such that ~ 0.6 μm wide pits can be written at scan velocities of 20 m/s using only 10 mW of light focused onto the medium with a well-corrected 0.65 NA lens.

© 1983 Optical Society of America