Sharp Develops New Semiconductor Laser, Could Enable 100GB Blu-ray Discs

Although Flash-based storage solutions are increasingly becoming the popular choice for computer users to store personal data in a digital format, optical media storage solutions are still a pretty solid reality. Optical disc drives are still a main feature on desktop and mainstream portable computer systems, with Blu-ray players becoming an increasingly present option for new, personal systems. On that note, Sharp Corp. has recently announced that it has developed a blue-violet semiconductor laser that sports an optical output of 500mW, under pulsed operation for use in Blu-ray Disc (BD) recorders.

According to a news report on Nikkei's Tech-On website, the laser has an oscillation wavelength of 405nm and can write at speeds of 8x on triple- and quadruple-layer Blu-ray discs. This essentially means that, using the current technology, where a single layer of the disc can be fitted with 25GB of storage space, Sharp's laser could allow for 75GB or 100GB recordable discs. These discs could be used for both storing personal data, but also for marketing 1080P movies, which are often limited by their size or built-in, special features.

The company reportedly started the volume production of a blue-violet semiconductor laser with a 320mW pulsed output in June, this year. As for the new, 500mW, blue-violet semiconductor laser, the company has no upcoming plans to start mass production, due to the lack of determined specifications for triple- or more-layer Blu-ray discs. Nevertheless, Sharp claims that it is currently capable of commercializing the laser.

The reliability of this new, blue-violet semiconductor laser has already been proven by Sharp, which has confirmed that the laser operates for more than 1,000 hours under the temperature of 80 degrees Celsius, with a pulse width of 30nm and an output of 500mW. The announcement was made at the 70th Autumn Meeting of the Japan Society of Applied Physics, taking place from Sept 8 to 11, 2009, in the Toyama Prefecture, Japan, Tech-On reported.