TDK has developed a prototype optical disc that can hold up to 320GB of information -- that's more than six times the current highest-capacity media available.
The 12-centimeter disc has 10 recording layers, each of which can store 32 Gigabytes. In comparison a Blu-ray Disc can hold 25GB on each layer, and a dual-layer disc is the highest capacity generally available at present.
As more layers are added to a disc it becomes more difficult to reliably read and write data because the laser has to shine through the layers. To help get around this, TDK engineers created a disc that uses clearer plastic so that more light can be shone through.
The disc improves on a 200GB prototype that was shown by TDK in 2006, but holds less data than a 400GB prototype disc that was presented by Pioneer last year. The Pioneer disc packed 16 recording layers onto a conventional 1.1-millimeter thick, 12-centimeter disc.
All three prototypes have something in common: their manufacturers have announced no plans to commercialize the discs. Their use in Blu-ray Disc players and recorders would require standardization efforts at the Blu-ray Disc Association and likely minor hardware changes in disc drives. So for now they serve as an indicator to where optical disc technology stands in the research laboratory.
PCWorld
The 12-centimeter disc has 10 recording layers, each of which can store 32 Gigabytes. In comparison a Blu-ray Disc can hold 25GB on each layer, and a dual-layer disc is the highest capacity generally available at present.
As more layers are added to a disc it becomes more difficult to reliably read and write data because the laser has to shine through the layers. To help get around this, TDK engineers created a disc that uses clearer plastic so that more light can be shone through.
The disc improves on a 200GB prototype that was shown by TDK in 2006, but holds less data than a 400GB prototype disc that was presented by Pioneer last year. The Pioneer disc packed 16 recording layers onto a conventional 1.1-millimeter thick, 12-centimeter disc.
All three prototypes have something in common: their manufacturers have announced no plans to commercialize the discs. Their use in Blu-ray Disc players and recorders would require standardization efforts at the Blu-ray Disc Association and likely minor hardware changes in disc drives. So for now they serve as an indicator to where optical disc technology stands in the research laboratory.
PCWorld
