New laser should mean 16X DVD writers by 2004

Zardon · Dec 26, 2002, 01:49 PM

MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORP. has developed a more powerful semiconductor laser that should pave the way for 16X DVD writers to be commercially available from 2004.

The new laser is able to deliver pulses of light at a power of 200 milliwatts, which is double that of lasers used in today's 4X DVD writer drives, the Tokyo company said this week.

Each bump in the speed of optical drives means the laser, which is used to create the light beam that burns data into the disc, has to be made more powerful. When DVD writers first came out, they required 50 milliwatt lasers. The jump to 2X speeds required a 70 milliwatt laser and, beyond today's 4X drives, the next generation of 8X drives will need a 140 milliwatt laser. Such products are already well on the way to being commercialized.

For users, the eventual arrival of 16X drives will bring big benefits. At that speed drives will be capable of writing data at 176M bps (bits per second) which means a complete 4.7G byte DVD disc can be written in three and a half minutes, according to Mitsubishi. That compares with around 14 minutes for today's fastest 4X drives and almost an hour for a first generation drive.

Samples of the new laser will be available from June 2003. With the introduction of the new laser, Mitsubishi says it expects its monthly laser production to increase from the current 1 million to 1.5 million during 2003 and reach 2 million units in 2004.

iCzMan · Dec 26, 2002, 08:46 PM

with current cdwriter technology i believe we don't even have to wait till 2004 to get pass 16x DVD-RW

ToshiroOC · Dec 28, 2002, 06:53 AM

Well, I think not. You need stronger lasers to burn faster, and this is a stronger laser, no more. and CD tech is very different from DVD tech... and if you think about it, the ONLY possible way to burn faster is to make more powerful lasers. The thing is, the faster the disc is moving, the shorter the bursts from the laser should be to make the same size marking on the writable layer, and you need to have the same total amount of power within each burst, and if it is shorter than you need a higher rate of energy per unit time - meaning more watts.

Sakman · Dec 30, 2002, 02:44 AM

Well, I think Mitsubishi Co. is not the only company in the semiconductor market. Lots of other electronic companies puts millions of dollars to their R&D divisions to make better or faster semiconductors. We will see it!

Dec 26, 2002, 01:49 PM	#1
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 179	New laser should mean 16X DVD writers by 2004 MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORP. has developed a more powerful semiconductor laser that should pave the way for 16X DVD writers to be commercially available from 2004. The new laser is able to deliver pulses of light at a power of 200 milliwatts, which is double that of lasers used in today's 4X DVD writer drives, the Tokyo company said this week. Each bump in the speed of optical drives means the laser, which is used to create the light beam that burns data into the disc, has to be made more powerful. When DVD writers first came out, they required 50 milliwatt lasers. The jump to 2X speeds required a 70 milliwatt laser and, beyond today's 4X drives, the next generation of 8X drives will need a 140 milliwatt laser. Such products are already well on the way to being commercialized. For users, the eventual arrival of 16X drives will bring big benefits. At that speed drives will be capable of writing data at 176M bps (bits per second) which means a complete 4.7G byte DVD disc can be written in three and a half minutes, according to Mitsubishi. That compares with around 14 minutes for today's fastest 4X drives and almost an hour for a first generation drive. Samples of the new laser will be available from June 2003. With the introduction of the new laser, Mitsubishi says it expects its monthly laser production to increase from the current 1 million to 1.5 million during 2003 and reach 2 million units in 2004.

Dec 28, 2002, 06:53 AM	#3
ToshiroOC Unbiased. Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 4,812 Rep Power: 0	Well, I think not. You need stronger lasers to burn faster, and this is a stronger laser, no more. and CD tech is very different from DVD tech... and if you think about it, the ONLY possible way to burn faster is to make more powerful lasers. The thing is, the faster the disc is moving, the shorter the bursts from the laser should be to make the same size marking on the writable layer, and you need to have the same total amount of power within each burst, and if it is shorter than you need a higher rate of energy per unit time - meaning more watts. __________________ [img][/img] [color=White]Peace be with you, Joe.[/color] Driverheaven Staff Member (Supermoderator)

Dec 26, 2002, 08:46 PM	#2
iCzMan DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 39 Rep Power: 0	with current cdwriter technology i believe we don't even have to wait till 2004 to get pass 16x DVD-RW

Dec 30, 2002, 02:44 AM	#4
Sakman DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Budapest, Hungary, Eu Posts: 2 Rep Power: 0	Well, I think Mitsubishi Co. is not the only company in the semiconductor market. Lots of other electronic companies puts millions of dollars to their R&D divisions to make better or faster semiconductors. We will see it!