Nichia Corporation of Japan has announced a new blue-violet laser that can fill up a 54GB double-layer disc at more than 10X record speed, compared to typical 2x and 4x Blu-ray/HD-DVD format disc recorders. In other words, instead of a 50 minute write-time at 2x, the future holds a 10 minute write-time at 10x. According to blue laser expert Steven DenBaars, the key to faster write times lies in the power of the laser. Faster burn times allow the disc to be rotated at a higher speed. A 2X device can sustain a write speed of only 8.99 Mbps, while a 10X laser disc recorder can achieve a writing velocity of 44.9 Mbps.
Nichia's new blue-violet semiconductor laser diodes can reportedly operate at 320 mW (milliwatts), while the average current consumer grade blue laser devices are in the range of 20mW. "Writing speed is totally dictated by the output power. The more power you have, the faster you can spin the disk," DenBaars said. The UCSB team, led by blue laser inventor and former Nichia researcher Shuji Nakamura, recently demonstrated the world's first nonpolar blue-violet laser diodes. The technology, which is still two to four years away, could eventually produce blue laser diodes that operate in the range of 500 mW.
News source: DailyTech
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