Partial-response signaling for phase-change optical data storage without electronic equalization

We describe the application of partial-response (PR) signaling in rewritable phase-change optical data storage. No electronic filter is necessary to shape the readout signal to a certain PR target. A PR-like waveform at the output of the read channel is directly achieved by optical recording. A genetic algorithm is used to optimize the parameters for writing and therefore to minimize the difference between the actual readout signal and the ideal PR waveform. With a laser wavelength of 0.66 microm and an objective lens with a numerical aperture of 0.6, four linear densities were examined: 0.4, 0.3, 0.25, and 0.2 microm/bit (without modulation). Results showed that the linear density of 0.25 microm/bit can be realized on a rewritable digital-versatile disk.