Flyable MediA fOr Slider based Ultra density optical recording

Objective

As the Internet becomes part of the daily life of people, the need for large capacity storage of content transferred over large networks to homes, schools and offices grows. The increasing popularity of mobile applications like hand-held computers & wearable electronics requires high-density portable storage. Today's hard disks magnetic data storage does not fully offer the required functionality for these new trends. On the other hand, conventional optical storage systems like CD and DVD cannot cope with the increasing storage density demands either. Therefore, a new low cost, robust and exchangeable very high-density mass storage solution becomes necessary. We aim to develop a new and very challenging hardware concept for optical storage systems by combining the best of hard disk and optical technologies. We aim at a 60 Gb/in2 slider based optical storage system.

Work description:
The challenging combination of powerful focussing optics with slider hard disk technology is key to achieve very high density mass storage. This new technology can only become a successful product when combined with exchangeable media that can be mass-produced at low cost. This challenging goal can only be achieved by bringing together the specialists of each partner in this consortium, since it requires a significant technological advance over the state of the art:
- Different to what is today available for (hard disk) slider applications, optical sliders should become transparent and carry a focussing lens;
- The severe disk parameters will require enormous improvements of plastic substrate technology;
- Different to what is available, protective coatings applied to optical disks must be transparent, have low stress and must be resistant to induced heat from the recording laser spot. The reliability of the system to be developed will depend on (mechanical) interactions between the slider and the disk and the presence of a focussed laser spot that heats the slider-disk interface. Special attention will be paid to substrate flatness & waviness, protective coatings and lubricants. This research will focus on the combined development of substrate, slider and protective coatings technology.

The project will cover the following topics:
- Producing plastic disk prototypes and evaluating them experimentally;
- Producing prototype glass sliders for flying height between 50nm and 5µm;
- Development and application of transparent protective coatings on sliders and disks and evaluating their optical parameters;
- Measuring flying performance of sliders using custom made special test sliders;
- Evaluating the influence of an optical spot that locally heats the disk;
Finally we will demonstrate the feasibility of implementing slider technology into an optical recording system with a potential capacity of around 100 GB per 12 cm disk.

Milestones:
The feasibility of using far and near field sliders flying on a plastic optical disk which can be implemented in an optical recording system prototype, having a potential density of around 60 Gb/in2, will be demonstrated. At the end of the project we will have an enabling technology for slider based optical storage systems that can be applied to e.g. mobile devices and mass storage of Internet content.

Programme(s)

• FP5-IST - Programme for research, technological development and demonstration on a "User-friendly information society, 1998-2002"

Topic(s)

• 2000-4.7.1 - Peripherals and networked embedded technologies

Funding Scheme

Coordinator

Participants (6)