Blue lasers

1. Blue lasers Keith Beatty AIT620 17Jul08

2. 17-Jul-08 AIT620 2 Objectives Why are blue lasers being used for new storage devices? What devices are on the market? What are the characteristics and advantages of blue lasers? The current status and future of blue laser technology

3. 17-Jul-08 AIT620 3 A timeline First optical laser: 1960 Low cost lasers (red): 1980s Exploit the technology: 1990s Needed to move from infrared to blue shorter wavelength, higher power diodes ATP research: Xerox, Stanford, SDL: (1991) Shuji Nakamura (Nichia Chemical) credited with development of the blue laser: (mid-90s) Blue lasers need different semiconductor media Wafers known to be better quality on gallium nitride Traditional sapphire or silicon carbonate inadequate Sumitomo Electronics Industries LTD. (Kensaku Motoki), figures this out: ~ 2003 Mass production of thin, crystal-clear disks Made from pure Gallium nitride Smaller than sapphire wafers Have less electrical resistance due to electrode placement (advantage) Sony ships first Blu-ray DVD recorder: March, 2003 Millennium Technology prize to UCSB�s Shuji Nakamura: 2006 DVD format war: ~2006-8 Format war ends: 2/19/2008 � Toshiba capitulates

4. 17-Jul-08 AIT620 4 Characteristics Wavelength = the distance between two consecutive identical points on the wave form To decrease pit sizes, move beyond red 650 nm = 15 GB single/30 GB dual (layer) 405 nm = 25 GB single/50 GB dual (layer) 405 nm considered blue-violet laser (DVD HD/Blu-ray)

5. 17-Jul-08 AIT620 5

6. 17-Jul-08 AIT620 6 Technical specifications

7. 17-Jul-08 AIT620 7 Advantages More data capacity on same size medium Single polycarbonate substrate not two halves (Blu-ray) Less electrical resistance due to placement of electrodes Closeness �near field� of data surface to R/W head reduces amount of tilt deflection errors (Blu-ray) Substrate need not be optical grade - laser doesn�t pass through all of it (Blu-ray)

8. 17-Jul-08 AIT620 8 Commercial/Current Applications High Density Optical Storage: The primary impetus for blue laser development is the continuing demand for increased storage capacity Highly stable recording surface >50 year media life Devices are on the market: DVD readers: Sony, Matsushita, Hitachi, Pioneer, Samsung, Sharp, LG, Thomson (the usual suspects) Media: Hitachi, JVC, Panasonic, Sony, Toshiba, Pioneer, TDK, Maxell UDO (Ultra Density Optical): www.plasmon.co.uk Laser modules: The RGBLase LLC 488/473/457/445 nm OEM BLUE laser module 405/375 nm BLUE VIOLET OEM laser module Any manner of Asian (25) manufactures: www.asianproducts.com Biotechnology: Bio-Medical instrumentation Flow Cytometry (counting, examining, & sorting microscopic particles suspended in a stream of fluid) DNA sequencing Raman Spectroscopy water purification Color printing: Use blue diodes to expose commercial printing plates Other: Optical mice and gaming

9. 17-Jul-08 AIT620 9 Commercial/Current Applications But, most important application is in entertainment Consumer demand for more content spurs market Initially, two competing standards HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray Toshiba vs. Sony, round 2 2 layers vs. overlays Known (HD-DVD) vs. new (Blu-ray) production models Blu-ray technology wins Much faster than previous conflict (VHS vs. Beta) Reasons Known technology doesn�t push the envelope enough? Microsoft does not adopt HD-DVD for X-box Ships early to gain market against Sony Content control vs. lost revenue

10. 17-Jul-08 AIT620 10 Security Content control = $$ The MPAA wants very much to control access to its content Two content protection schemes attempt to assert ownership control Advanced Access Content System (AACS) Self-Protecting Digital Content (BD+) Revocation through traceability AACS: Similar to a certificate revocation list (CRL) denies all devices in a class More vulnerable to extended compromise SPDC (BD+): BD+ is programmable security for Blu-ray Layered on top of AACS Responds dynamically to threats with embedded VMs & integrated APIs Similar to a TPM chip contains metrics on per device basis Can delay but cannot completely deny compromise However, delay is an acceptable mitigation to MPAA The major reason for Blu-ray victory (opinion) Digital Rights Management (DRM) on client + SPDC = content control = $$

11. 17-Jul-08 AIT620 11 The future Move toward the end of the light spectrum� Blue-violet and beyond (< 405nm) 3 to 8 tracks (layers) Storage Opportunity How large is the window (8-10 years)? Holographic technology as a quantum leap Rushing to the next new thing Blu-ray and the MPAA It is the standard � now But when will there be more Blu-ray DVDs? Video compression (codecs) have impacts Will there even be a movie on the DVD? Whither the Internet direct downloads to home? If online movie distribution takes off sooner than expected, Sony may fail to recoup its investment

12. 17-Jul-08 AIT620 12 Summary Blue laser has shorter wavelength (than red) Information more densely packed on media Storage the single biggest motivation for development of blue laser technology Blue lasers are used in storage, particularly video storage, and biotechnology May be superseded by holographic storage technology (or other) within a decade SPDC is a superior content protection scheme

13. 17-Jul-08 AIT620 13 References ATP Status Report 91-01-0176. Monolithic Array of Laser Diodes Expand Laser Applications. 10/2001 & 6/2003. Dixon, Douglas. Making Sense of Digital Media Technology: Multi-Layer High-Def DVD Technology. 9/2005. www.manifest-tech.com/media_dvd/dvd_hd_multi_layer.htm Geppert, Linda R. Winner: The Great Gallium Nitride Gamble. January, 2004. http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/jan04/3913 Independent Security Evaluators. Content Protection for Optical Media: A Comparison of Self-Protecting Digital Content and AACS. 5/3/2005. www.securityevaluators.com Managing Rights Management: Blu-ray BD+. 3/26/2007. www.managingrights.com/2007/03/bluray_bd.html McBride, s., Kane, Y.I, Wingfield, N. In Blu-ray Coup, Sony Has Opening but Hurdles, Too. WSJ. 1/7/2008. pg. B.1. O�Kelly, Terence. Memorex Whitepaper: Reference Guide for Blue Laser Media. 6/2006. www.memorex.com/downloads/whitepapers/WhitePaper_Blue_Laser_Jun06.pdf Op-ed. Blue-Ray Vision. WSJ. 2/22/2008. pg. A. 14 [editorial]. RGBlase LLC. www.rglbase.com/405nm.htm & www.rglbase.com/473nm.htm Rosenblatt, Bill. Blu-ray Group Announces Content Protection Strategy. 8/11/2005. www.drmwatch.com/drmtech/article.php/3526796 Sony sells first blue-laser DVD recorder. Reuters. 3/4/2003. www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/ptech/03/04/blue.dvd.reut/index.html Stewart, Lee. Macrovision to Acquire Blu-ray Disc Sec. Tech. (BD+) from Cryptography Research. 11/19/2007. www.highdefforum.com/showthread.php?t=56297. UCSB Press Release. 2006 Millennium Technology Prize Awarded to UCSB�s Shuji Nakamura. 6/15/2006. www.ia.uscb.edu/pa/display.aspx?pkey=1475. UDO Fact Sheet. 2004. www.pegasus-afs.com/PDFs/UDO_facts.pdf www.asianproducts.com. Keyword: blue laser pointer manufacturers.