Japan Semiconductor Innovation 50 (D-16 1990s)
Infrared High Power Lasers for DVD Players (NEC, Sony, Toshiba, Panasonic)
NEC, Sony, and Toshiba achieved continuous oscillation of
infrared InGaAlP lasers at room temperature in 1985. Then, several Japanese
manufacturers improved the infrared lasers for practical use including multi-quantum-well
(MQW) lasers, and multi-quantum-barrier (MQB) lasers. The lasers were used
as the light sources of pick-ups in DVD players for home use in 1996. Development
of several-hundred-mW-class lasers using these technologies made it possible
to realize DVD recorders with recording speed of 16 or 32 times higher than
basic speed.
Panasonic and several other Japanese companies developed monolithic dual-band
high power lasers for DVD/CD dual-use drivers, which integrated InGaAlP
650 nm-band lasers for DVD recording and an AlGaAs 780nm-band lasers for
CD recording on the same substrates. Infrared high power lasers made great
contribution for the expansion of optical disk industry in the world.
Laser diode for DVD players |
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| Quote from Panasonic HP |