Hitachi Maxell has developed a thin optical disc that could lead to data cartridges capable of storing terabytes of information.The Stacked Volumetric Optical Disc (SVOD) is less than a tenth of a millimeter thick, and it’s from this thinness that the technology has an advantage over current CD, DVD and blue-laser discs, all of which are 1.2 millimeters thick. Many of the discs can be stacked together to realize a large data storage capacity in a small space, said Akira Ijichi, assistant department manager of the company’s recording media sales department.Working prototype discs on show at this week’s Ceatec Japan 2006 exhibition in Chiba, Japan, are based on DVD technology, and each holds 4.7GB. Hitachi Maxell envisages cartridges of 100 discs would be only a few centimeters thick but would be able to offer a total capacity of 470GB, said Ijichi. To keep the discs safe, each is housed in a protective sleeve inside the cartridge.The cartridge slots into a dedicated drive, and the discs are pulled out of the cartridge automatically by a mechanism inside the unit and mounted into the drive. Making the discs so thin doesn’t come without its problems. The discs are flexible, but optical disc systems require a rigid disc so that the laser remains in focus on the disc’s surface. To get around this problem, Hitachi Maxell has fitted inside each drive a 0.6-millimeter-thick piece of glass through which there are holes. Air is drawn through the holes when the disc spins, causing the flexible disc to be drawn against the rigid piece of glass to make it flat.The disc marks a different approach than that of many competitors, which are fixed on increasing the storage capacity by using ever-more complicated storage technology to cram data more closely together on a disc. HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc achieve higher because the storage bits are smaller and next-generation systems in development rely on holographic technology. Hitachi Maxell has basically finished development of the system but doesn’t yet have commercialization plans, said Ijichi. It is considering working with an optical drive maker to develop a better drive for the system.It’s targeted at commercial storage applications. The company says that a system is about the same size as a tower PC and will be able to hold 4.7 terabytes of data. A 19-inch rack mount model will be able to hold three times that amount of data.-Martyn Williams, IDG News Service (Tokyo Bureau)Related Links: Hitachi WLAN Tags Updated for Goods, Employees Hitachi Targets Cars, Videos With New Hard DisksCheck out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content brandpost Sponsored by Freshworks When your AI chatbots mess up AI ‘hallucinations’ present significant business risks, but new types of guardrails can keep them from doing serious damage By Paul Gillin Dec 08, 2023 4 mins Generative AI brandpost Sponsored by Dell New research: How IT leaders drive business benefits by accelerating device refresh strategies Security leaders have particular concerns that older devices are more vulnerable to increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks. By Laura McEwan Dec 08, 2023 3 mins Infrastructure Management case study Toyota transforms IT service desk with gen AI To help promote insourcing and quality control, Toyota Motor North America is leveraging generative AI for HR and IT service desk requests. By Thor Olavsrud Dec 08, 2023 7 mins Employee Experience Generative AI ICT Partners feature CSM certification: Costs, requirements, and all you need to know The Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) certification sets the standard for establishing Scrum theory, developing practical applications and rules, and leading teams and stakeholders through the development process. By Moira Alexander Dec 08, 2023 8 mins Certifications IT Skills Project Management Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe