Color-Forming Data Storage Medium Using Laser-Induced Chromatic Encoding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current data storage technologies face limitations in capacity and speed, with existing methods being slow and inefficient in recording and reading data, particularly in optical storage mediums.
Innovation Solution
A data storage medium using a color-forming composition that changes to at least three different colors when irradiated with a laser, allowing for the creation of tracks of data points with multiple colors, enabling faster data recording and reading by using a substrate with a leuco dye, diacetylene, or carbazole-based composition and employing laser radiation to form and read these points.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If conventional pits and bumps are used for data storage, then the storage medium can be read and written, but the storage capacity is limited and recording speed is slow
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a color-forming composition that changes to at least three different colors when irradiated with a laser. Each data point can be one of multiple colors (e.g., blue, red, yellow, green), allowing multiple bits of information to be stored per data point. This color-based encoding dramatically increases storage capacity while maintaining high recording speeds because the laser can rapidly write multiple colors without the mechanical limitations of pit formation.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the fundamental parameter used for data encoding from physical geometry (pit depth, bump height) to optical property (color/wavelength). By using a color-forming composition with leuco dye, diacetylene, or carbazole that responds to laser irradiation by changing color, the system achieves both high capacity and high speed recording.
2Quantity of substance
If the number of pits is increased by making them smaller, then storage capacity increases, but the complexity of manufacturing and reading increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of increasing the number of pits by making them smaller, the patent increases information density by encoding multiple bits per data point through color variations. A single data point can represent multiple binary digits by being one of several colors, reducing the total number of data points needed while maintaining or increasing storage capacity, and simplifying the manufacturing process.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention adds a new dimension to data encoding by using color (wavelength) as an additional degree of freedom. Rather than only varying the presence or absence of pits, the system varies the color of each data point, effectively adding an informational dimension that increases capacity without requiring more data points or smaller features.
3Quantity of substance
If focused ion beam milling is used to create holes of different depths, then data storage capacity is enhanced, but the recording speed becomes very slow
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical focused ion beam milling process with an optical laser-based color formation process. Instead of physically removing material to create holes of different depths, the system uses laser irradiation to induce color changes in a photo-forming composition. This substitution of mechanical processing with optical processing dramatically increases recording speed while maintaining the ability to encode multiple bits per data point.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical mechanism from mechanical material removal (ion beam milling) to optical chemical transformation (laser-induced color change). By using a color-forming composition that undergoes reversible or irreversible color transitions upon laser exposure, the system achieves high-speed recording without the slow material removal rates inherent in ion beam processes.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach significantly increases data storage capacity and speed, allowing for rapid data recording and reading, surpassing conventional methods by utilizing multiple colors to encode information, thereby enhancing data density and transfer rates.
Implementation Method 1
a colour former which is susceptible to changing to at least three different colours when irradiated with a laser
Implementation Method 2
irradiated with a laser
Implementation Method 3
directing laser beam radiation corresponding to recording information onto a colour-forming substrate
Implementation Method 4
detecting reflected radiation using an array of colour detectors
Data Source
Figure 1~3
AI summary
A data storage medium comprising recording information in the form of a track of data points, the colour of each data point being selected from at least three different colours, wherein the recording information is disposed on a substrate which comprises a colour forming composition, wherein said colour forming comprises a colour former which is susceptible to changing to at least three different colours when irradiated with a laser, wherein the colour former is a leuco dye, a diacetylene or a carbazole. Methods of forming the data storage medium and methods of reading the medium are also provided.