The Holographic Versatile Disc (HVD) is an optical disc technology that, in the future, may hold up to 6TB (terabytes) of information, although the current maximum is 500GB. It employs a technique known as collinear holography, whereby two green laser beams are collimated in a single beam. The green laser reads data encoded as laser interference fringes from a holographic layer near the top of the disc. A red laser is used as the reference beam to read servoinformation from a regular CD-style aluminum layer near the bottom. Servoinformation is used to monitor the position of the read head over the disc, similar to the head, track, and sector information on a conventional hard disk drive. On a CD or DVD this servoinformation is interspersed amongst the data.
A dichroic mirror layer between the holographic data and the servo data reflects the green laser while letting the red laser pass through. This prevents interference from refraction of the green laser off the servo data pits and is an advance over past holographic storage media, which either experienced too much interference, or lacked the servo data entirely, making them incompatible with current CD and DVD drive technology.[1] These discs have the capacity to hold up to 6 terabytes (TB) of information. The HVD also has a transfer rate of 1 Gbit/s (125 MB/s). Sony, Philips, TDK, Panasonic and Optware all plan to release 1 TB capacity discs in late 2016 while Maxell plans one for early 2020 with a capacity of 500 GB and transfer rate of 20 MB/s[2]—although HVD standards were approved and published on June 28, 2007, no company has released an HVD as of November 2009.[3]
Technology
Optical discs
|
|
| Optical media types |
- Blu-ray Disc (BD): BD-R, BD-RE
- DVD: DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-R DL, DVD+R DL, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-RW DL, DVD+RW DL, DVD-RW2, DVD-RAM, DVD-D, HVD
- Compact Disc (CD): Red Book, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, 5.1 Music Disc, SACD, PhotoCD, CD Video (CDV), Video CD (VCD), SVCD, CD+G, CD-Text, CD-ROM XA, CD-i
- Universal Media Disc (UMD)
- Enhanced Versatile Disc (EVD)
- Forward Versatile Disc (FVD)
- Holographic Versatile Disc (HVD)
- China Blue High-definition Disc (CBHD)
- HD DVD: HD DVD-R, HD DVD-RW, HD DVD-RAM
- High-Definition Versatile Disc (HDVD)
- High definition Versatile Multilayer Disc (HD VMD)
- VCDHD
- GD-ROM
- MiniDisc (MD) (Hi-MD)
- Laserdisc (LD)
- Video Single Disc (VSD)
- Ultra Density Optical (UDO)
- Stacked Volumetric Optical Disk (SVOD)
- Five dimensional discs (5D DVD)
- Nintendo optical disc (NOD)
|
| Standards |
|
|
| Further reading |
|
|
|
|
Holographic Versatile Disc structure
1. Green writing/reading laser (532 nm)
2. Red positioning/addressing laser (650 nm ?)
3. Hologram (data)
4. Polycarbonate layer
5. Photopolymeric layer (data-containing layer)
6. Distance layers
7. Dichroic layer (reflecting green light)
8. Aluminum reflective layer (reflecting red light)
9. Transparent base
P. PIT
Current optical storage saves one bit per pulse, and the HVD alliance hopes to improve this efficiency with capabilities of around 60,000 bits per pulse in an inverted, truncated cone shape that has a 200 micrometer diameter at the bottom and a 500 micrometer diameter at the top. High densities are possible by moving these closer on the tracks: 100 GB at 18 micrometers separation, 200 GB at 13 micrometers, 500 GB at 8 micrometers and a demonstrated maximum of 5 TB for 3 micrometer separation on a 10 cm disc.
The system uses a green laser, with an output power of 1 watt which is quite high power for a consumer device laser. So a major challenge of the project for widespread consumer markets is to either improve the sensitivity of the polymer used, or develop and commoditize a laser capable of higher power output and suitable for a consumer unit.[citation needed]
Competing technologies
HVD is not the only technology in high-capacity, optical storage media. InPhase Technologies is developing a rival holographic format called Tapestry Media, which they claim will eventually store 1.6 TB with a data transfer rate of 120 MB/s, and several companies are developing TB-level discs based on 3D optical data storage technology. Such large optical storage capacities compete favorably with the Blu-ray Disc format. However, holographic drives are projected to initially cost around US$15,000, and a single disc around US$120–180, although prices are expected to fall steadily.[4] The market for this format is not initially the common consumer, but enterprises with very large storage needs.
Holography System Development Forum
The Holography System Development Forum (HSD Forum; formerly the HVD Alliance and the HVD FORUM) is a coalition of corporations purposed to provide an industry forum for testing and technical discussion of all aspects of HVD design and manufacturing.
|
|
This article may need to be updated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information, and remove this template when finished. Please see the talk page for more information. |
As of August 2009[update], the HVD Forum comprised these corporations:
Some members of the Blu-ray Disc Association
- Hoplon Infotainment
- Disney Interactive Studios
- Walt Disney
- Sony
- 20th Century Fox
- Warner Bros
- Intel
- Sony Pictures Entertainment
- Sony Computer Entertainment
- Alps Electric Corporation, Ltd.
- Philips
- CMC Magnetics Corporation
- Panasonic
- Samsung
- Sharp
- TDK
- JVC
- Apple
- LG
- Hitachi
- Mitsubishi
- Dainippon Ink and Chemicals, Inc. (DIC)
- EMTEC International (subsidiary of the MPO Group)
- Fuji Photo Film Company, Ltd.
- Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc.
- LiteOn Technology Corporation
- Moser Baer, (India)
- Mitsubishi Kagaku Media Company, Ltd. (MKM)
- Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd.
- Nippon Paint Company, Ltd.
- Optware Corporation
- Pulstec Industrial Company, Ltd.
- Shibaura Mechatronics Corporation
- Software Architects, Inc. (?)
- Suruga Seiki Company, Ltd.
- Targray Technology International, Inc.
- Teijin Chemicals, Ltd.
- Toagosei Company, Ltd.
- Tokiwa Optical Corporation
Standards
On December 9, 2004 at its 88th General Assembly the standards body Ecma International created Technical Committee 44, dedicated to standardizing HVD formats based on Optware's technology. On June 11, 2007, TC44 published the first two HVD standards:[5] ECMA-377,[6] defining a 200 GB HVD "recordable cartridge" and ECMA-378,[7] defining a 100 GB HVD-ROM disc. Its next stated goals are 30 GB HVD cards and submission of these standards to the International Organization for Standardization for ISO approval.[8]
[9] New High Definition Video Technologies Road Map (2004-2010) From Maxell Corporation of America
News
27 April 2009: GE unveils a 500GB disc. BBC News
See also
References
External links
