Panasonic has achieved the cumulative sales quantity for its dual-wavelength high-power laser for DVD recorders to 300 million units in April, 2010.
The production of dual-wavelength high-power laser started the first time in the industry in June 2006. Now, under the favorable demand of the personal computers, Panasonic said that it would increase monthly production to 25 million units (300 million annually) for the latter half of this fiscal year.
The dual-wavelength high-power laser offers several advantages in comparison to the use of single wavelength lasers as it combines two laser wavelengths, an infrared beam (with a wavelength of 780 nm, for CD use) and a red beam (with a wavelength of 650 nm, for DVD use), in a single chip. As result, light source point adjustment is unnecessary, the optical pickup system can be simplified, and the number of peripheral parts can be halved. These benefits helped dual-wavelength lasers capture a high share of the total market for DVD recorder pickups and achieve the sales of 300 million units in the four years since production started.
In fiscal 2010, Panasonic will double the production to 25 million units per month to meet the market demands supported by the business of personal computers in the BRICs markets.
This volume represents more than 80% of the projected total market size for DVD recorder pickups. Panasonic hopes that this production plan will fulfill customers' demands and contribute to the steady growth of the laser disc market.