CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

The Information Age has led to an explosion of information available to users . While current storage needs are being met, storage technologies must continue to improve in order to keep pace with the rapidly increasing demand. A Fourth Generation Optical Storage is an advanced optical disk that's presently in the development stage. A Fourth Generation Optical Storage is a volumetric approach which , although conceived decades ago, has made recent progress toward practicality with the appearance of lower-cost enabling technologies . The technology permits over 10 kilobits of data to be written and read in parallel with a single flash. Fourth generation storage technology, offers both high storage density and fast readout rate.

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CHAPTER 2 HISTORY
In computing and optical disc recording technologies, an optical disc is a flat, usually circular disc which encodes binary data (bits) in the form of pits (binary value of 0 or off, due to lack of reflection when read) and lands (binary value of 1 or on, due to a reflection when read) on a special material (oftenaluminium[citation needed]) on one of its flat surfaces. The encoding material sits atop a thicker substrate (usually polycarbonate) which makes up the bulk of the disc and forms a dust defocusing layer. The encoding pattern follows a continuous, spiral path covering the entire disc surface and extending from the innermost track to the outermost track. The data is stored on the disc with a laser or stamping machine, and can be accessed when the data path is illuminated with alaser diode in an optical disc drive which spins the disc at speeds of about 200 to 4000 RPM or more, depending on the drive type, disc format, and the distance of the read head from the center of the disc (inner tracks are read at a faster disc speed). The pits or bumps distort the reflected laser light, hence most optical discs (except the black discs of the original PlayStation video game console) characteristically have an iridescent appearance created by the grooves of the reflective layer. The reverse side of an optical disc usually has a printed label, generally made of paper but sometimes printed or stamped onto the disc itself. This side of the disc contains the actual data and is typically coated with a transparent material, usually lacquer. Unlike the 3-inch floppy disk, most optical discs do not have an integrated protective casing and are therefore susceptible to data transfer problems due to scratches, fingerprints, and other environmental problems. Optical discs are usually between 7.6 and 30 cm (3 to 12 in) in diameter, with 12 cm (4.75 in) being the most common size. A typical disc is about 1.2 mm (0.05 in) thick, while the track pitch (distance from the center of one track to the center of the next) is typically 1.6 m.

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CHAPTER 3 EVOLUTION OF OPTICAL DISCS

3.1) First Generation Optical Storage

The optical disc was invented in 1958. Initially, optical discs were used to store music and computer software.

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The Laser disc format stored analog video signals for the distribution of home video. Other first-generation disc formats were designed only to store digital data and were not initially capable of use as a digital video medium. Most first-generation disc devices had an infrared laser reading head. The minimum size of the laser spot is proportional to its wavelength, thus wavelength is a limiting factor against great information density, too little data can be stored so. The infrared range is beyond the long-wavelength end of the visible light spectrum, so, supports less density than any visible light colour.

One example of high-density data storage capacity, achieved with an infrared laser, is 700 MB of net user data for a 12 cm compact disc.

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3.2) Second Generation Optical Storage

Second-generation optical discs were for storing great amounts of data, including broadcast-quality digital video. Discs usually are read with a visible-light laser (usually red) the shorter wavelength and greater numerical aperture allow a narrower light beam, permitting smaller pits and lands in the disc.

In the DVD format, this allows 4.7 GB storage on a standard 12 cm, single-sided, single-layer disc; alternatively, smaller media, such as the Mini Disc can have capacity comparable to that of the larger, standard compact 12 cm disc.

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3.3)Third Generation Optical Storage Third-generation optical discs are meant for distributing high-definition video and support greater data storage capacities. high-definition video and greater data storage accomplished with short-wavelength visible-light lasers and greater numerical apertures. The Blu-ray disc uses blue-violet lasers and focusing optics of greater aperture, for use with discs with smaller pits and lands, thereby greater data storage capacity per layer. The effective multimedia presentation capacity is improved with enhanced video data compression codecs .

3.3.1) Blu-ray Discs

The first Blu-ray Disc prototypes were unveiled in October 2000, and the first prototype player was released in April 2003 in Japan. It was officially released in June 2006. Blu-ray Disc (official abbreviation BD) is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The disc diameter is 120 mm and disc thickness 1.2 mm plastic optical disc, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs (50 GB) being the norm for feature-length video discs. Triple layer discs (100 GB) and quadruple layers (128 GB) are available for BD-XL Blu-ray re-writer drives.

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The name Blu-ray Disc refers to the blue laser used to read the disc, which allows information to be stored at a greater density than is possible with the longer-wavelength red laser used for DVDs. "Blu-ray Disc recordable" refers to two optical disc formats that can be recorded with an optical disc recorder. BD-Rs can be written to once, whereas BD-REs can be erased and re-recorded multiple times. The current practical maximum speed for Blu-ray Discs is about 12. Higher speeds of rotation (10,000+ rpm) cause too much wobble for the discs to be read properly. September 2007, BD-RE is also available in the smaller 8 cm Mini Blu-ray Disc size

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CHAPTER 4 FOURTH GENERATION OPTICAL DISC

The following formats go beyond the current third-generation discs and have the potential to hold more than one terabyte (1 TB) of data:

4.1) Holographic Versatile Disc

Although holography was conceived in the late 1940s, it was not considered a potential storage technology until the development of the laser in the 1960s. The resulting rapid development of holography for displaying 3-D images led researchers to realize that holograms could also store data at a volumetric density of as much as 1/ A3 where A, is the wave-length of the light beam used.

Since each data page is retrieved by an array of photo detectors in parallel, rather than bit-by-bit, the holographic scheme promises fast readout rates as well as high density. The particular technology used in the production of HVD is known as collinear holography. This technology involves the collimating of two lasers, of which one is blue-green and the other red, to form a single beam. The blue-green laser reads the data that is encoded in the form of laser interference fringes emitted from the holographic layer that is on the top. The red laser on the other hand acts as a reference beam. Holographic data storage works on the principle of holography. In holographic data storage an entire page of information is stored at once as an optical interference pattern within a thick, photosensitive optical material.

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Holographic Versatile Disc can store data upto several TB. Current optical storage saves one bit per pulse, and the HVD alliance hopes to improve this efficiency with capabilities of around 60,000 bits per pulse in an inverted, truncated cone shape that has a 200 m diameter at the bottom and a 500 m diameter at the top. High densities are possible by moving these closer on the tracks: 100 GB at 18 m separation, 200 GB at 13 m, 500 GB at 8 m, and most demonstrated of 5 TB for 3 m on a 10 cm disc. The system uses a green laser, with an output power of 1 watt which is high power for a consumer device laser. Possible solutions include improving the sensitivity of the polymer used, or developing and commoditizing a laser capable of higher power output while being suitable for a consumer unit

4.1.1) ARCHITECTURE OF HOLOGRAPHHIC VERSATILE DISC

1. Green writing/reading laser (532 nm) 2. Red positioning/addressing laser (650 nm) 3. Hologram (data)(shown here as brown) 4. Polycarbonate layer 5. Photo polymeric layer (data-containing layer) 6. Distance layers 7. Dichroic layer (reflecting green light) 8. Aluminium reflective layer (reflecting red light) 9. Transparent base P. Pit pattern

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4.2) LS-R LAYER SELECTION TYPE RECORDABLE DISC: LS-R, or the Layer-Selection-Type Recordable Optical Disk, is the term coined by Hitachi in 2003. This optical disc technology allows much larger data storage densities than DVD, HD DVD or Blu-ray Disc, by allowing the use of a large number of data layers in a single disc. In LS-R, only the layer of interest generates a reflection, meaning that a very large number of layers can theoretically be stacked in the same disc This reflection phenomenon from a particular layer is accomplished by an electronic "selection" mechanism. Each data layer is coated with electrodes and only the electrodes associated with the layer of interest are activated. Activation changes the "selected" data layer from being transparent to being reflective or opaque, thus it can be addressed.

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4.2.1)Layer Structure(LS-R)

4.2.2) TECHNOLOGY
In the Hitachi implementation, LS-R technology utilizes an electro chromic film. Example:-

Tungsten oxide or an organic material to accomplish the optical change. A two-layer feasibility prototype has been demonstrated, and it was estimated that a 20-layer CD-sized disc could provide 1 terabyte of data capacity. Electrical activation of layers has been achieved with transparent ITO(Indium tin oxide) electrodes.

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4.3) PROTIEN COATED DISC

Protein-Coated Disc (PCD) is a theoretical optical disc technology currently being developed by Professor V.R Gopalkrishnan, formerly of Harvard Medical School and Florida International University. PCD would greatly increase storage over Holographic Versatile Disc optical disc systems. It involves coating a normal DVD with a special light-sensitive protein made from a genetically altered microbe.

It would in principle allow storage of up to 50 Terabytes on one disc. The technology uses the photosynthetic pigment bacteriorhodopsin created from bacteria.

4.3.1)TECHNOLOGY USED
The information in such discs would be highly dense. Due to being stored in proteins that are only a few nanometres across. A method to address individual protein molecules to read and write information to and from them would have to be developed in order to achieve the theoretical 50 TB capacity. capacity would probably be limited by the size that addressing light can be focused to, so a DVD-sized disc might be able to hold ~50 GB.

rotating about an axis point, to closely replicate head movements without being attached to the head.

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CHAPTER 5 ADVANTAGE OF OPTICAL DISCS

A direct access storage device that is written and read by light. The most common optical discs in use are CDs and DVDs. As removable media, optical discs have advantages over the older removable magnetic disk cartridges. They weigh less, have higher capacities and are not subject to head crashes or corruption from stray magnetic fields. They also have a 30-year life and are less vulnerable to extremes of hot and cold. However, flash drives and external hard disks that plug into the USB port have given optical discs a run for their money as a transportable storage medium. Following are the major types. Read-Only (Factory Pressed) Read-only discs are pressed from a master at the time of manufacture and cannot be erased. They include the music CD, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, DVD-Video and BD-ROM (Blu-ray). Write-Once (Burnable) Write-once discs are recorded in the user's environment but cannot be erased. They include the CD-R, DVD-R, DVD+R, BD-R (Blu-ray), WORM discs, as well as magneto-optic (MO) discs in WORM mode. Rewritable (Phase Change and Magneto Optic) Rewritable discs can be written and re-written numerous times. Employing phase change technology, consumer-oriented products include CD-RW, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD+RW and BD-RE (Blu-ray) (see phase change disc). Used in corporate optical disc libraries that hold multiple cartridges, magneto-optic (MO) disks are extremely robust (see magneto-optic disk). See DVD, holographic storage, ISO 13346, multilevel optical disc and legality of optical storage. Writability Read only Optical Disc Types CD, CD-ROM DVD-ROM, DVD-Video BD-ROM CR-R DVD-R, DVD+R BD-R, WORM CD-RW DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD+RW BD-RE, magneto-optic (MO)

Write once

Rewritable

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