Robert James Longman

Environmental Evaluation Of Rugged And Long-Life Write Once Optical Disks

Environmental test results are presented for write-once optical storage media produced by vacuum deposition of a thin film of platinum on a textured polycarbonate substrate that is produced from an interferometrically generated master. This type of storage media can be produced in large quantities using a simple production process. The disk construction is briefly described. Accelerated ageing tests were undertaken on 130mm diameter disks using high temperature and high humidity environments for both continuous and cycled conditions. The resultant changes in defect error rate, bit error rate, carrier to noise ratios and reflectivity are presented. Lifetime in a typical office environment is evaluated. This study indicates that these platinum based optical disks exhibit very long shelf and archival lifetimes and are capable of withstanding harsh environments.