TDK Announces 100GB Blue Laser Disc Technology

Recently unveiled in Tokyo, Japan, TDK’s new prototype Blu-ray Disc records data at 72 megabits per second, double the 36Mbps rate of the current Blu-ray Disc specification. The increased speed has been accomplished through recent advancements in disc recording layer formulations. The initial Blu-ray Disc standard allows for 25GB single layer Blu-ray Discs and 50GB dual layer Blu-ray Discs. To achieve 100GB capacity, the prototype Blu-ray Disc incorporates four 25GB layers. Like all Blu-ray Disc media, TDK’s prototype 100GB Blu-ray Disc is single sided.

Hideki Hirata, TDK Engineering Manager, noted, “Anticipation surrounding the release of the bare Blu-ray Disc format continues to grow. Although there’s been considerable speculation regarding next-generation Blu-ray Disc capacities, TDK is the first to successfully achieve 100GB in a working, prototype disc. TDK’s development of a prototype 100GB Blu-ray Disc with double the recording speed of the current specification validates the company’s position as a leader in extending the capabilities of optical media.�

TDK technologies are redefining state-of-the-art optical media specifications and performance. The company’s advanced sputtering technology played a key role in enabling the creation of the prototype100GB Blu-ray Disc. Additionally, TDK’s new inorganic film formulation provides absolute stability with narrow track pitches and high recording densities, such as those employed by the Blu-ray Disc format. The formulation’s optical qualities are so stable that TDK has already been able to achieve 6x (216Mbps) recording speed in the lab with blue laser media.

Because Blu-ray Disc media’s data tracks are quite narrow even in comparison with DVD media, precise, stable interaction between the laser and the recording material is especially critical to ensuring error-free recording and playback. That’s why TDK developed DURABIS, an innovative hard coating technology that makes bare Blu-ray Disc media a reality by protecting the disc surface against common contaminants such as scratches, fingerprints and dust adherence.

DURABIS increases the scratch resistance of Blu-ray Disc media by a factor of 100, as demonstrated in rigorous testing. Because the DURABIS coating technology rapidly discharges static electricity, the discs also resist the accumulation of dust.

TDK’s creation of DURABIS has eliminated the need for cumbersome cartridges to protect the media’s recording layer and is allowing the development of bare Blu-ray Disc media. Eliminating the need for a cartridge will minimize manufacturing costs. What’s more, with DURABIS coating technology allowing the production of bare Blu-ray Discs, the format will allow for the same user experience as with today’s CDs and DVDs.

As a member of the Blu-ray Disc Association Board of Directors, TDK has played a key role in the development of Blu-ray, the next generation optical media format that will not only change the way we experience home entertainment and computing, but will also create unprecedented business efficiencies.