[OPTICAL REVIEW Vol. 4, No. 6 (1997) 655-659]
Analysis of Signal-to-Noise Ratio in Photochromic Super-Resolution Readout
Tsuyoshi TSUJIOKA,1 Minoru KUME1 and Masahiro IRIE2
1New Materials Research Center, SANYO Electric Co., Ltd., 1-18-13, Hashiridani, Hirakata-City, Osaka, 573 Japan, 2Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyushu University, 6-10-1, Hakosaki, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 812 Japan
(Received June 11, 1997; Accepted September 12, 1997)
The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in the photochromic super-resolution readout of optical disks was theoretically analyzed. The shot noise limited SNR, such as that in magnetooptical disks, was improved only for the short recorded mark. However, the media noise limited SNR, such as that in phase change disks, was greatly improved for both short and long recorded marks.
Key words : optical disk, photochromism, high-density recording, super-resolution, signal-to-noise ratio, shot noise, media noise