Matsushita's Panasonic division announced that it has started pilot production of single-layer, Blu-ray-based BD-ROM media. The company said that it is currently working on replicating the process to dual-layer BD-ROM discs with 50 GByte of storage capacity.
The doubling of BD-ROM disc storage capacity is enabled by spin coating technologies that create two recorded layers on a single side of a Blu-ray disc. In the process, the company said, readily available inexpensive UV curable resins are used in the creation of the space layer, cover layer and hard-coat, resulting in a reduction in disc replication costs. Video and other data is then embedded in the layers for playback later using a blue laser-equipped Blu-ray Disc player, recorder or BD-ROM drive-equipped PC. Single-layer BD-ROM discs are currently being produced on the pilot line with more than 80 percent yield rates, Panasonic said.
