OPTICAL STORAGE Storage Storage is the palace where data is held in an electromagnetic or optical form for access by a computer

processor. Optical storage Refers to any storage method in which data is written and read with a laser for archival or backup (retrieval) purposes. Typically, data is written to optical disk, such as CD, DVD and Blue ray Optical Disk Optical disk is forms of a portable storage media. There three types of Optical disc CD ( Compact Disc) are storage media that hold content in digital form and that are written and read by laser DVD ( Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile disc) for video and audio Blue Ray use blue-violet laser and they have a tighter engineering tolerance to dramatically increase capacities

In the real world optical refers to vision, or the ability to see. In the computer world, however, optical refers to lasers, which can see and read data on optical discs. Optical Drive Is any drive that uses a lens to read and write data. Some common type of optical drives include CD-ROM, (read-only memory) CD-RW (rewritable), DVD-ROM (random access memory), DVD-RW (rewritable), and Blue-ray drives. How does it work? These discs are made up of millions of bumps and dips. Optical drives have lasers that read these bumps and dips as one and zeros, which the computer can understand. CD-R and DVD-R drive use a laser to both read and write data on the discs. The laser used for writing data is much more powerful than the laser that reads the data, as it burns the bumps and dips into disc. While optical drives can spin discs at very high speeds, they are still significantly slower than hard drives, which store data magnetically. However, because optical media is inexpensive and removable, it is the most common format used for distributing computer software. Advantages: Durability. With proper care, optical media can last a long time, depending on what kind of optical media you choose. Great for archiving. Several forms of optical media are write-once read-many, which means that when data is written to them, they cannot be reused. This is excellent for archiving because data is preserved permanently with no possibility of being overwritten. Transportability. Optical media are widely used on other platforms, including the PC. For example, data written on a DVD-RAM can be read on a PC or any other system with an optical device and the same file system. Random access. Optical media provide the capability to pinpoint a particular piece of data stored on it, independent of the other data on the volume or the order in which that data was stored on the volume. Huge Storage capacity. These are both read-only optical storage discs. They are both 12cm in diameter. CD-ROMs can store about 700 MB while DVD-ROMs can store up to 17 GB and Blue-ray can store up to 50GB. They are able to store large amounts of text, images and audio Used for software distribution. Due to their low-cost replication capability, high capacity, robustness, and removability, optical CD-ROM systems have become competitive with magnetic floppy disks for applications such as software distribution and home multimedia applications. It is expected that CD systems will remain essential for the wide commercial acceptance of optical storage systems.

While optical has many advantages, there are also some disadvantages that you have to consider, as follows: Disadvantages: Reusable. The write-once read-many (WORM) characteristic of some optical media makes it excellent for archiving, but it also prevents you from being able to use that media again. Writing time. The server uses software compression to write compressed data to your optical media. This process takes considerable processing unit resources and may increase the time needed to write and restore that data. Require special drive. Optical discs require special drives to read/write. Data storage. Optical storage does not provide enough data storage in comparison to other storage technologies Compatibility. Optical storage rewritable formats suffer from compatibility issues between drives.

CDs and DVDs Production A CD is made from 1.2 millimeters (0.047 in) thick, polycarbonate plastics and weighs 115-20 grams. From the center outward, components are the center spindle hole (15mm), the first transition area ( claming ring), the clamping area (stacking ring) the second-transition area (mirror band), the program (data) area, and the rim. The inner program area occupies a radius from 25 to 58 mm. a thin of layer of aluminum or more rarely, gold is applied to the surface making it reflective. The metal is protected by a film of lacquer normally spin coated directly lon the reflective layer. The label is pointed on the lacquer layer, usually by screen printing or offset printing. CD data are stored as a series of tiny indentations known as pits encoded in a spiral track moulded into the top of the polycarbonate layer. The areas between [pits are known as lands. Each pit is approximately 100 nm deep by 500 nm, wide, and varies from 850 nm to 3.5 Um in length. The distance between the tracks, the pitch is 1.6. Scanning velocity is 1.2-1.4 m/s (constant linear velocity) equivalent to approximately 500 rpm at the inside of the disc, and approximately 200 rpm at the outside edge. ( A disc played from beginning to end slows down during playback.) the program area is 86.05 cm squared and the length of the recordable spiral is 86.05 cm squared / 1.6 um equals 5.3km. with a scanning speed of 1.2 m/s , the playing time is 47 minutes or 650 MB of data on a CD ROM. A disc with data packed slightly more densely is tolerated by most players (though some old ones fail). Using a linear velocity of 1.2 m/s and a track pitch of 1.5 m yields a playing time of 80 minutes, or a data capacity of 700 MB. Even higher capacities on non-standard discs (up to 99 minutes) are available at least as recordable, but generally the tighter the tracks are squeezed, the worse the compatibility. A CD is read by focusing a 780 nm wavelength (near infrared) semiconductor laser through the bottom of the polycarbonate layer. The change in height between pits and lands results in a difference in the way the light is reflected. By measuring the intensity change with a photodiode, the data can be read from disc. The pits and lands themselves do not directly represent the Zeros and ones of binary data. Instead non returned to zero , inverted encoding is used a change from pit to land to pit indicates a ;one, while no change indicates a series of zeros, inverted encoding is used: a change from pit to land or land to pit indicates a one, while no change indicates a series of zeros. There must be at least two and no more than ten zeros between each one, which is defined by the length of the pit. This in turn is decoded by reversing the eightto-fourteen modulation used in mastering the disc, and then reversing the cross-interleaved Reed-solomon coding, finally revealing the raw data stored on the disc. CDs are susceptible to damage from both normal use and envnironmental exposure. Pits are much closer to the label side of a disc. enabling defects and contaminants on the clear side to be out of focus during playback. Consequently, CDs are more likely to suffer damage on the label side of the disk. Scratches on the clear side can be repaired by refilling them with similar refractive plastic, or by careful polishing.