<title>Write-Once optical technology: how mass storage and random-access retrieval have paved the road from horizontal to vertical applications</title>

Abstract

Write-Once optical disk technology is an application-specific medium that offers excellent reliability and security while storing massive amounts of data. The storage capability is critical in that a single disk, or platter, can store as much as 6.55 gigabytes of information which cannot be altered or erased. However, the retrieval process is also significant since optical disks allow for non-linear, random access to all data. Although Write-Once optical disk system applications are very diverse, they all express a common denominator -- the need to store vast amounts of data and the ability to quickly and effortlessly retrieve the information. Write-Once optical disk technology has rapidly matured in vertical markets, resulting in increased productivity, space conservation, and cost savings. Applications ranging from mass storage and retrieval of legal documents to mug shots, fingerprints, and x rays illustrate how Write- Once optical disk technology has become a strategic technological tool in vertical markets. The applications also demonstrate how the technology has expanded its functionality beyond routine storage and retrieval.© (1992) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.