Proposal of Optical Floppy Disk Head and Preliminary Spacing Experiment between Lensless Head and Disk

A new optical floppy disk system using a very simple optical head which consists of a laser diode chip, a photodiode chip and a heatsink is proposed, and fundamental experiments with laser diodes are performed. The system has no optical element like a lens or a prism, and also no focus actuator. Experimental results show that the spacing between the recording film and the light-emitting edge of a laser chip could be designed to be as great as 5-10 µm, which is greater than the expected value. This is avarable solution for improving the dust problem between the head and the disk. As the head is simple and low in weight, a low-cost disk drive with high access time may be possible.