New Flying Lens Could Revolutionize Optical Drives, Render Blu-ray Obsolete

Respital · 10-29-2008, 08:48 PM

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/new...luray_obsolete

Quote:

Moore’s Law (which states that the maximum number of transistors on a given chip area doubles every one and a half years) has been a driving force in the hardware industry, and that doesn’t look like it’s going to change. Some of the industry’s biggest names are dumping money, time and effort with the goal of extending this, with the goal of pumping out some über hardware.

There are concerns already ahead, with companies like IBM, AMD and Intel all looking to move ahead to 32nm, problems with controlling light at ultra low nanometer resolutions are looming ahead. But, thanks to research from the University of California Berkeley that wall could crumble, and usher in a new generation of ultra-tiny transistors, and even a brand new type of drive that could end up replacing Blu-ray.

UC Berkeley’s Xiang Zhang and David Bogy, both professors of mechanical engineering took a new approach that uses a metal arm similar to that of a record turntable or a hard drive, and utilizes a tiny lens that quite literally flies over the chip wafer. This would allow designs that are being made at 80nm wide to become much smaller. And even still, with the wafer being spun at 12 meters per second, production would be fast. "Utilizing this plasmonic nanolithography, we will be able to make current microprocessors more than 10 times smaller, but far more powerful. This technology could also lead to ultra-high density disks that can hold 10 to 100 times more data than disks today," said Professor Zhang.

What’s more, the new tech has the potential of being cheaper than what we’ve got now. 45nm technologies are expensive thanks to complex lens and mirror setups required to concentrate the light that’s required to read data. This new method, called photolithography, would only have one costly component, which would be a plasmonic lens. The rest of the components would be run of the mill, and drop costs dramatically.

It’s expected that you’ll be seeing this breakthrough in your very own drives relatively soon. Professor Zhang states, "I expect in three to five years we could see industrial implementation of this technology. This could be used in microelectronics manufacturing or for optical data storage and provide resolution that is 10 to 20 times higher than current Blu-ray technology."

Looks like no point in upgrading to i7 or blue ray now.

Your thoughts?

Respital · 10-29-2008, 08:49 PM

Royal Digital Media Announces 100GB/Disk Blu-ray Killer, Supports 1920p

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/new...supports_1920p

Quote:

It was at the beginning of 2008 that the Blu-ray/HD DVD format war came to an end, and it looks like the beginning of 2009 is going to see the start of a new battle. Blu-ray just got a new competitor, and if maker Royal Digital Media can deliver on their promises, it could mean big trouble for Sony’s format.

News of the new format broke by way of a press release from DreamStream, who RDM has contracted to provide military-grade, 2,048-bit encryption for the disks. Compared to Blue-rays paltry 128-bit encryption, the new format should prove significantly more of a challenge to crack, which must look good to publishers looking to protect their IP.

RDM says that their as-of-yet-unnamed HD disk will be able to hold 100GB of data, and will support 1920p video. That means that a single disk will be able to hold about 4 hours of super-HD content.

The best part about RDM’s new format? According to the press release, it’s based on “inexpensive red laser technology” and therefore the disks and players will cost about as much as traditional DVDs and players.

The format is scheduled to launch as soon as the beginning of 2009. It’s going to be interesting to see if they can keep their promises. If they can, is this going to spell the end of Blue-ray? Tell us what you think after the jump.

g4m3rof1337 · 10-29-2008, 08:52 PM

Wow, glad I didn't buy anything Blu-Ray.

tremmor · 10-29-2008, 09:37 PM

not soon.

**DCIScouts** · 10-29-2008, 10:01 PM

He said 3 to 5 years. And they just discovered this idea, so there's no telling exactly how long it will really be before this is not only developed, but made available for mass purchase.

Mecal · 10-30-2008, 12:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DCIScouts

He said 3 to 5 years. And they just discovered this idea, so there's no telling exactly how long it will really be before this is not only developed, but made available for mass purchase.

Exactly, it could take a while for them to work it out precisely and develop them for the mass markets.
Plus, in 3 to 5 years time, who knows what else will be discovered?

Elimin8or · 10-30-2008, 12:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mecal

Exactly, it could take a while for them to work it out precisely and develop them for the mass markets.
Plus, in 3 to 5 years time, who knows what else will be discovered?

Thats right. But its still cool...

scooter · 10-30-2008, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DCIScouts

He said 3 to 5 years. And they just discovered this idea, so there's no telling exactly how long it will really be before this is not only developed, but made available for mass purchase.

Not to mention at a price point that makes it the logical choice.

Caminokid · 10-30-2008, 11:10 AM

Definitely interesting.

**Archangel** · 10-30-2008, 11:30 AM

my bet is still on the holo-disk tbh

10-29-2008, 08:52 PM	#3 (permalink)
g4m3rof1337 Diamond Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Chicago Posts: 10,581	Wow, glad I didn't buy anything Blu-Ray. __________________ Desktop/Laptop nForce 750i SLI FTW Q9450 @ 2.66GHz Water Cooled/ T8100 @ 2.10GHz Two XFX 512MB 8800GTs with Accelero S1s / Two 512MB 8600GTs RaidMax 700Watt OCZ 4GB/ 2GB WD 500GB,200GB,80GB/ 320GB Sceptre 20.1'' or 32'' Sharp Aquos HD LCD/ 17'' Widescreen G15, MX518, N52TE/ 4 Harmon/Kardon Speakers w/ Sub.

10-29-2008, 10:01 PM	#5 (permalink)
DCIScouts Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Houghton, Michigan, USA Age: 27 Posts: 6,039	He said 3 to 5 years. And they just discovered this idea, so there's no telling exactly how long it will really be before this is not only developed, but made available for mass purchase. __________________ In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. -Martin Luther King Jr. The most overlooked advantage to owning a computer is that if they foul up there's no law against wacking them around a little. -Joe Martin FOLDING FOR THE GOOD OF MANKIND :F@H Team 44358 Posting and you - CF Edition Cheers CF

10-30-2008, 11:30 AM	#10 (permalink)
Archangel Moderator Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Netherlands Age: 22 Posts: 9,886	my bet is still on the holo-disk tbh __________________ Don't hit me with them negative waves so early in the morning.

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10-29-2008, 09:37 PM	#4 (permalink)
tremmor Diamond Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 1,819	not soon.

10-30-2008, 11:10 AM	#9 (permalink)
Caminokid Bronze Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Springfield IL Posts: 62	Definitely interesting.