HIGH DENSITY OPTICAL DATA STORAGE IN NOVEL FLEXIBLE MEDIUM WITH BUILT-IN FOCUSSING MICROSPHERES

TRADITIONAL DIGITAL OPTICAL INFORMATION STORAGE PROCESSES PLACE STRINGENT REQUIREMENTS ON THE FLATNESS OF THE STORAGE MEDIUM AND ALIGNMENT DURING INFORMATION STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL. IN CONTRAST, THE PRESENT PROPOSAL SEEKS TO DEVELOP A NOVEL, HIGHLY FLEXIBLE INFORMATION STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL SCHEME BASED ON FOCUSSING LIGHT USING MONODISPERSETRANSPARENT MICROSPHERES. THE SIZE OF THE SPHERES, COMBINEDWITH THEIR INHERENT ABILITY TO REDUCE THE EFFECTS OF LATERALMISALIGNMENT, LEAD TO RELAXED OVERALL MECHANICAL PRECISION REQUIREMENTS BY 1-2 ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE COMPARED TO TRANDITIONAL OPTICAL DATA STORAGE MEDIA. IN ORDER TO FULLY REALIZE THE POTENTIAL OF THIS TECHNIQUE "BURN FILMS" AND PROTECTIVE COATINGS WITH A HIGH DEGREE OF MECHANICAL AND CHEMICAL RESISTANCE NEED TO BE DEVELOPED. THE MAIN GOAL OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO DEVELOP A NEW CLASS OF "BURN FILMS" AND PROTECTIVE COATINGS BASED ON DIAMONDLIKE NANOCOMPOSITE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPED AT MOLTECH CORPORATION. EXTENSIVE EXPERIMENTATION HAS SHOWN THAT THIS NEW CLASS OF MATERIALS HAVE EXCELLENT CHEMICAL, MECHANICAL AND THERMAL RESISTANCE. IN ADDITION, THE POTENTIAL FOR INCORPORATION OF A GRAY SCALEIN THESE MATERIALS BASED ON CHANGES IN TRANSMITTIVITY AND/ORREFLECTIVITY INDUCED BY LASER IRRADIATION WILL BE INVESTIGATED.