ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the fundamentals of optical storage and also deals with novel approaches to higher performance storage. Optical data storage has a long history dating back to the 1960s but, with the compact disk initially, it became relevant to the consumer and industry. Today, optical disk technology covers wide variety of applications ranging from content distribution to professional storage applications. One of the major application areas for optical storage disks is the secondary storage of computer data in personal computers (PCs) and computer networks. The write-once read-many (WORM) technology allows one to store permanently a large amount of data on a thin disk medium, to remove it, and to have fast access to it in any compatible optical drive system. Information stored on rewritable optical disks can be erased and rewritten many times. Optical information storage is based on laser–material interaction for writing and reading. Data recovery is the recognition of the stored information from storage-induced changes.
