Vacuum Coating Technology for Optical Data Storage Media

The manufacture of optical data storage media like CD and DVD has grown into a highly specialized large-scale industrial production. The following is a retrospective of developments in coating and system technology over the past 20 years. System reliability, stable processes and fast machine cycle times are key elements for efficient replication. Vacuum coating technology in particular contributes to a product-optimized process. Multilayer systems and the shift to blue laser recording in emerging formats serve to further increase disc storage capacity.