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The Chemistry of Optical Discs

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David Birkett

Loctite RD&E, Dublin 24, Ireland

J. Chem. Educ., 2002, 79 (9), p 1081

DOI: 10.1021/ed079p1081

Publication Date (Web): September 1, 2002

Section:

History, Education, and Documentation

Abstract

The rapid rise of optical data storage is clearly a triumph for physics, engineering, and information technology, but a great deal of chemical innovation has also been necessary to make this revolution possible. This article explores the polymer and material science that has gone into the development of CDs and DVDs in prerecorded, write-once, and erasable formats, and magneto-optical (MO) discs and the related minidiscs. Prerecorded CDs and DVDs, where the data is stored as a series of pits physically stamped into a plastic disc, have required new optically-clear grades of the base plastic, technically sophisticated UV acrylic adhesives and lacquers, and a detailed understanding of the surface energy and the optical and electrochemical properties of metals in very thin layers. The different recordable formats have all needed new chemistry for the recording layer: cyanine and phthalocyanine dyes for write-once discs, low-melting alloys with a glassy state for erasable discs, and magnetic materials with closely defined Curie temperatures and hysteresis for MO and minidiscs. Even newer optical storage formats, including multilayer fluorescent or holographic discs are under development, and these are already demanding critical inputs by chemists.

Keywords (Audience):

General Public

Keywords (Domain):

Polymer Chemistry

Keywords (Feature):

Products of Chemistry

Keywords (Subject):

Industrial Chemistry

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Citing Articles

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This article has been cited by 2 ACS Journal articles (2 most recent appear below).

Resolving Spectral Lines with a Periscope-Type DVD Spectroscope
Fumitaka Wakabayashi
Journal of Chemical Education2008 85 (6), 849
- Resolving Spectral Lines with a Periscope-Type DVD Spectroscope
  Fumitaka Wakabayashi
  Journal of Chemical Education2008 85 (6), 849
  A new type of DVD spectroscope, the periscope type, is described and the numerical analysis of the observed emission and absorption spectra is demonstrated. A small and thin mirror is put inside and an eighth part of a DVD is used as a grating. Using this ...
  Abstract | Hi-Res PDF | PDF w/ Links
A DVD Spectroscope: A Simple, High-Resolution Classroom Spectroscope
Fumitaka Wakabayashi , Kiyohito Hamada
Journal of Chemical Education2006 83 (1), 56
- A DVD Spectroscope: A Simple, High-Resolution Classroom Spectroscope
  Fumitaka Wakabayashi , Kiyohito Hamada
  Journal of Chemical Education2006 83 (1), 56
  A new, simple, inexpensive spectroscope for classroom experiments, a DVD spectroscope, is described and some emission spectra observed with the spectroscope are presented. This spectroscope is made with a sheet of cardboard, or an empty box, and a digital ...
  Abstract | Hi-Res PDF | PDF w/ Links