Optical disk substrates material requirements

Some of the key material requirements for optical disk substrates are mechanical integrity, dimensional stability over a range of temperatures and... 

High demands are placed on the substrate material of disk-shaped optical data storage devices regarding the optical, physical, chemical, mechanical, and thermal properties. In addition to these physical parameters, they have to meet special requirements regarding optical purity of the material, processing characteristics, and especially in mass production, economic characteristics (costs, processing). The question of recyclabiUty must also be tackled. 

The birefringence of substrate materials for optical data storage devices requires special attention, especially in the case of EOD(MOR) disks. Birefringence has no importance for glass substrates (glass does not exhibit any significant birefringence) and is only a subordinate factor for polymeric protective layers of aluminum substrates because of their reflective read/write technique. 

With disk diameters above 5.25 in., all parameters, eg, water absorption and thermal expansion, become more critical which aggravates the expansion or warp of disks. If in the future disk rotation speeds have to be increased significantly to boost data transfer rates, higher demands will be placed on warp (tilt angle) and modulus to avoid creeping (ie, irreversible elongation in radial direction). A survey of the requirement profile for the substrate material of optical disks is given in Table 5 (182,186,187,189). 

The largest volume use of polymers in optical recording media is in the disk substrate. A schematic of a typical double-sided disk substrate is shown in Figure 1.38, which illustrates the properties required of the substrate material ... 

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