Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. has developed a new blue laser diode powerful enough to offer multi-layer recording on Blu-ray discs at speeds of up to 12x.

The diode features a maximum output power of 450mW allowing burning of four-layer Blu-ray discs at a speed of 12x.

Burning at 12x on a Blu-ray recordable disc would allow a two-hour HD program to be stored on a disc in just ten minutes.

Sanyo had to deal with major technological difficulties in the development of the new diode. First, the element had to offer stable power characteristics (450mW) for long period of time during high-speed recording. Second, the element itself should offer high optical conversion efficiency, which means that the structure of the diode itself should allow electric power to be efficiently converted to optical power.

Sanyo developed and adopted a new structure for the element called "LASTECT".

A protection film has been formed in both sides of the laser element offering better reflectivity control as well as protection against oxidation. The specific film offers very good dielectric characteristics low photoabsorption and as a result, it does not attenuate the power of the optical output during long periods of operation.



In addition, the structure features a new layer with low photoabsorption characteristics across the path of the optical beam. The structure decreases the optical power losses and thus, the optical conversion efficiency is improved.

Sanyo's laser element has also a very compact size with a diameter of just 5.6mm. The company said that it would continue the development and optimization of the Blue laser and expects aims at mass production in the next 2-3 years. After all, the Blu-ray Disc Association has not yet standardized the 12x recording.

For additional information visit http://www.sanyo.co.jp/koho/hypertext4/0810news-j/1003-1.html.