Photoaddressable Polymers for Rewritable Optical Disc Systems

We present results of the feasibility study on photoaddressable polymers (PAPs) applied to optical disc systems. PAPs represent a new class of organic rewritable materials that exhibit a huge signal birefringence (Δn) at the readout wavelength. By optimizing the disc structure and the readout optics, the signal amplitude is proved to be sufficient for the optical disc systems. A low noise profile and sharp recording profile led to a maximum carrier-to-noise ratio (C/N) of 58 dB and a clear eye-pattern. They also showed a potential for multi-level recording, since the recording was dominated by a pure photon mode.