Renesas introduced the R2S35200NP, a three-wavelength compatible laser diode driver for optical pickup use in optical disc drives.

With next-generation optical disc BD and HD-DVD drives there is also a marked need for DVD and CD integration, requiring three laser diode drivers supporting lasers of three different wavelengths. At the same time, there is a demand for a smaller mounting area to enable devices to be made more space-efficient.

The R2S35200NP supports three wavelengths for BD/DVD/CD or HD-DVD/DVD/CD with a single chip. The mounting area has been reduced by approximately 15% (Renesas Technology comparison) compared with a conventional multiple-package configuration, enabling the optical pickup to be made smaller and lower power consumption to be achieved. In addition, the R2S35200NP supports DVD-RAM.

The characteristics of the 405nm wavelength blue-violet lasers used in high-density disks make it more difficult to achieve the required slew-rate (the time required for the waveform to rise or fall) than is the case for infrared lasers and red lasers with a wavelength of 780nm (DVD). This makes it very hard to increase the speed and precision of the drive.

To deal with this issue, Renesas Technology developed the R2S35200NP featuring an improved version of the waveform correction function of the M64030FP BD laser diode driver currently in volume production, and also achieving a high slew rate of 0.6 nanosecond (BD or HD-DVD) and 1.0 nanosecond (DVD/CD).

In addition, the R2S35200NP supports an on-chip write strategy function for improved writing precision, allowing intergators to carry out system design without having to consider on-board delay.

The R2S35200NP also supports data clocks of 15 MHz to 340 MHz (enables up to 5x writing) and a maximum current output of 450 mA for BD or HD-DVD use, as well as data clocks of 15 MHz to 500 MHz and a maximum current output of 850 mA for DVD/CD use.

Sample shipments of the R2S35200NP will begin in Japan in November 2005.

Sony, Intersil and Atmel have also announced laser diode drivers for Blu-Ray recorders. Philips and BenQ have also unveiled plans to use a triple - laser optical pick-up unit in their forthcoming CD/DVD/Blu-Ray burner.