High-density optical disks for long-term information storage

Abstract

Optical discs are widely used for storage of archival data represented in a digital form. Long-term storage of information recorded on standard CDs is provided by periodical rewriting (once in 3-5 years) on the new carriers. High-stable lightsensitive materials and special reflective metal coatings are proposed to use for increasing the information storage terms of the optical discs. The conducted researches have showed that the application of vitreous chalcogenide semiconductors in optical WORM discs assures the data storage terms up to 30 years. Substantially larger terms of data storage can be realized on the optical ROM carriers. Attainment of the guaranteed data storage terms within several hundreds years is provided in such carriers by applying high-stable materials substrates and information should be represented in the form of a micro-relief structure on the substrate surface. Sapphire, quartz, silicon, glass-ceramics and other materials can be utilized for manufacturing substrates of optical BD discs (and other subsequent high-density disc formats). These materials allow creating substrates characterized with increased melting temperature, chemical and mechanical resistance. Furthermore, using the mentioned materials for substrates production permits applying high temperature materials, such as chrome and nickel, to creation of high-stable refractive layers and demonstrating the sufficient mechanical adhesion between the refractive layer and the substrate. Modern methods of thermo-lithography offers creating of nano-size images on photo-resist layer deposited on the substrates. Those images can be transformed to the nano-size relief structures on the surface of the high-stable materials substrates by techniques of reactive ion-beam etching.