APRIL 15--Next week at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show in Las Vegas, NV, Fuji Photo Film USA Inc. (Valhalla, NY; www.fujifilm.com) will display its next-generation information storage-disk technology that promises more than 200 times greater capacity (or up to 3.9 Tbytes) and 40 times the transfer speed of today's DVD media. Called Holographic Versatile Disc (HVD), the technology utilizes existing manufacturing processes and a unique application of servo information to markedly increase the storage capacity beyond that of today's optical disks.
This technology is the result of innovation from Optware Corporation (www.optware.co.jp/english/top.htm), a development venture set up to find ways of incorporating holographic recording technology in commercially viable products, now supported by the recently formed HVD Alliance, an industry consortium of global technology companies announced in January. "This is a real opportunity for the industry and potential end users as Collinear Holography is integrating accepted optical storage techniques with new recording technologies," said Jim Hegadorn, director, technical services, Recording Media Division, Fujifilm USA. "By creating a way to build servo information into the disk, we are going to see great leaps in capacity and transfer rates--in a removable, interchangeable format--which is very appealing to future broadcast, cinema, and archiving needs in a world of high definition."
Fujifilm is providing significant contributions to HVD media, including optical-disk manufacturing experience and advanced material technology such as photopolymers and the dichroic mirror layer, which provides precise control of the light beam. Through the Alliance, Fujifilm is helping to develop this future optical media that takes advantage of an innovative method called Collinear Holography. By managing a double beam along a single path to imprint a disk, this technology provides critical advantages for storing large amounts of data.
Fuji Photo Film USA is a subsidiary of Fuji Photo Film Co. Ltd. and delivers technology solutions to meet the imaging and information needs of retailers, consumers, professionals, and business customers. It pioneered the development of digital medical systems, and today is a leader in digital minilab systems.