Abstract
Integrated optical recording head concepts show promise for future light-weight and compact optical heads. Several fundamental issues remain to be explored before fully integrated optical heads. become a reality. This article reviews the basic operating principles of integrated optic heads, focusing on the materials challenges inherent in developing both partially and fully integrated optical heads. Currently available optical mass storage systems provide a feature unavailable in magnetic direct access storage devices (DASD) — removable and interchangeable media. At present, however, this feature is bought at a price, with magnetic storage devices currently outperforming their optical counterparts in access speed and volumetric storage density. The access time of optical drives is greater than 40 ms, compared to the 10–20 ms typical of magnetic DASD. This is, in large part, a consequence of the 50–100 g moving mass of the optical head. The optical head also limits the maximum volumetric storage density, with current heads ranging from about 0.5 cm to more than 2 cm in height.