Small form factor optical pickup (SFFOP) corresponding to BD specifications is strongly proposed for the next-generation portable storage device. In order to generate SFFOP, small sized optical pickup has been fabricated. We have developed a small sited optical pickup that is called the integrated optical pickup (IOP). The fabrication method of this system is mainly dependant on the use of the wafer based micro fabrication technology, which has been used in MEMS process such as photolithography, reactive ion etching, wafer bonding, and packaging process. This approach has the merits for mass production and high assembling accuracy. In this study, to generate the small sized optical pickup for high recording capacity, IOP corresponding to BD specifications has been designed and developed, including three main parts, 1) design, fabrication and evaluation of objective lens unit, 2) design and fabrication of IOP and 3) evaluation process of FES and TES.

In this study, we present the optimization of a head slider using kriging method in order to reduce lift-off force during unloading process with satisfying reliable flying attitude in steady state. To perform an optimization process efficiently, a simplified lift-off force model, which is a function of air bearing suction force and flying attitudes, is created by kriging method. The EMDIOS, which is the process integration and design optimization software developed by iDOT, is used to automatically wrap the analysis with the optimization and efficiently implements the repetitive works between analyzer and optimizer. An optimization problem is formulated to reduce the lift-off force during unloading process while satisfying the flying attitude in reliable range over the entire recording band and reducing the probability of contact between slider and disk. The simulation result shows that the amplitude of lift-off force of optimized L/UL slider is reduced about 62%, compared with that of initial slider model. It is demonstrated by the dynamics L/UL simulation that the optimum slider incorporated with the suspension is not only smoothly loaded onto disk but also properly unloaded onto the ramp.

A Blu-ray disc, which has a more than 25GB optical capacity, has been known as a promising next-generation optical disc format. It commonly has a 1.1 mm thick substrate and a 0.1 mm thick cover layer for beam transmitting and the protection of the reflecting surface. The cover layer is generally formed by the spin coating process. However, in conventional spin coating, small bumps are formed along the rim of the disc, which results in the fatal reading error. Numerical simulation of the thin film flow behaviors during spin coating with the commercial solver and optimal spinning conditions was obtained. Thickness distribution of the cover layer according to the variation of substrate's edge shape could be calculated as well. By modifying the shape of the substrate edge shape, the bumps along the disc rim could be minimized, and it was proved that the chamfered edge, around $5{\sim}10$ degree, is the simplest and most effective way to minimize the bumps.

In recent years the flying height of the head/slider has been decreasing in order to increase the recording density of hard disk drive (HDD). Accordingly, it was predicted that direct contact between slider and disk surface (slider slap) can cause defects on the disk such as scratch and particle generation. In this work, we theoretically demonstrate the effect of rounded-edge slider using Hertzian contact theory. Depth and width of scratch were predicted by plowing model. Furthermore, as we fabricated rounded-edge slider, rounded-edge slider was tested and compared with sharp-edge slider. The experimental results show rounded-edge was effective for reducing scratch depth.

Bragg detuning effect if, one of the serious problems if the photopolymer is used for the recording material of holography memories. And the critical reasons of that are known as the bulk refractive index change and shrinkage of recording material. However, the trials for analyzing the effect are mainly on the K-sphere and biased on the transmission hologram. So, we approached Bragg detuning effect numerically and applied the method to the transmission holograms and the reflection holograms all together. We simulated it with MATLAB. As a result, the bulk refractive index change causes+Bragg detuning effect on the transmission holograms and the reflection holograms. But the shrinkage leads to+Bragg detuning effect on the transmission hologram and-Bragg detuning effect on the reflective hologram. Compared to experimental result, the bulk refractive index change(${\fallingdotseq}4{\times}10^{-4}$) and the ratio of shrinkage to the thickness of the material(${\fallingdotseq}1.67{\times}10^{-3}$) could be matched with Bragg detuning effect on the transmission hologram and the reflection hologram.

We are developing a phase change etching technology using an inorganic photoresist of GeSbTe film which is the recording material of the phase change disc. A selective etching phenomenon between amorphous and crystalline states can be utilized with an alkaline etchant. Phase-change pits could be formed using this technique, in which the etching selectivity is strongly dependent on the concentration of the etchant. The degree of etching was investigated by the transmittance between crystalline and amorphous films after the wet-etching. The pits patterned on the disc could be observed by AFM after wet-etching.

Information storage devices have been studied to increase the storage capacity and the data transfer rate as well as to decrease the access time and their physical sizes. Optical information storage devices have been achieved high-capacity by reducing optical spot size remarkably due to the development of Blue-ray technology. Optical information storage devices usually use 1.2mm-thick polycarbonate(PC) media to get high enough stiffness. However, it would be better if we can decrease the thickness of a disk for achieving thinner device while keeping the capacity as large as possible. Decreasing the thickness of the storage media makes it difficult to read and write data because it increases the transverse vibration of the rotating disk due to the interaction with surrounding air and the vibration characteristics of thin flexible disk itself, Therefore, a special design based on the fluid mechanics is required to suppress the transverse vibration of the disk in non-contact manner so that the optical pickup can read/write data successfully. In this study, a curved wall is proposed as a stabilizer to suppress the transverse vibration of a $95{\mu}m$-thick PC disk. The characteristics of disk vibration due to a curved wall have been studied through numerical and experimental analysis from the fluid mechanics point of view. The proposed shapes are possible candidates as stabilizers to suppress the transverse vibration of a flexible disk which rotates at high speed.

The present state of the design of swing arm actuators for optical disc drives is to obtain the high efficient dynamic characteristics within a very compact volume. As a necessary consequence, the need of the small form factor (SFF) storage device has been arisen as major interests in the information storage technology. In this paper, we suggest the miniaturized swing arm type actuator that has high efficient dynamic characteristics for SFF optical disk drive (ODD). For the operating mechanism, it uses a tracking electromagnetic (EM) circuit for a focusing motion together. Moreover, due to the size constraint, the thermal stability of optical head is important. Therefore, the actuator is designed to emit the heat, which is generated by optical pick-up, along the actuator body easily. Initial model is designed based on the topology optimization method considering the thermal conductivity. Then, the structural parts of the actuator are modified to maintain the high sensitivity and to have wide control bandwidth by the design of experiments method (DOE) and new concept of decreasing mass and inertia. Finally, a swing arm type actuator for SFF ODD is suggested and its dynamic characteristics are verified.