Drive Issues for High Performance Magneto-optic Recording

In recent years much research has been directed towards developing magneto-optic recording technology, and in assessing its competitiveness in the computer data storage market. High areal density, removable media, reliability, and projected manufacturing costs make magneto-optic drives a very interesting mass storage alternative. However many drive designs have focused on only the above attributes, ignoring performance, thereby developing "slow" magneto-optic drives. Magneto-optic drives will certainly be more competitive if they are designed with equal or greater performance than comparably priced, comparable capacity, Winchester drives. This paper will examine the tradeoffs necessary to develop high performance magneto-optic drives. Design procedures for the read/write optics, media, modulation codes, formats, servo optics, and servo/seek mechanism and control, will be examined.