Integrated-Optic Disc Pickup Devices: Hybrid To Monolithic Integration

Abstract

There has been continuous research interest in integrated optics (IO) approaches for implementation of disc readout heads, since we proposed and demonstrated the first prototype of an IO disc pickup device using thin film waveguide in 19851. The purpose of such R&D work is to implement compact and light-weight pickup heads with a rigid structure, to enable economical mass production by the planar fabrication technique, and to exploit novel functions and improved performances offered by the use of guided-wave optics. In this paper, I would like to review the current status of the integrated-optic technology for data storage with emphasis on the author's work, and discuss the possibilities, problems and subjects for future work.