Abstract

The ability to store data using optical technology offers tremendous potential for increasing storage density and capacity while significantly reducing the cost of storage. However, the special characteristics of optical technology suggest that is is most appropriate for a particular set of applications rather than for indiscriminately replacing conventional magnetic tape or disk. In light of this, it is appropriate to assess those applications which appear to be well suited for optical storage from the standpoint of requirements which they impose on the architecture of an optical storage product. The assessment in this paper addresses a set of generic applications and then derives a general set of optical storage requirements from these applications.

© 1983 Optical Society of America