3-Beam Magneto-Optical Disk Drive

This paper describes the highspeed recording characteristics of a three-beam magnetooptic disk drive using ISO standard 130 mm MO disks with overwrite and read-verify functions. The distance between the write and read beams was chosen to suppress thermal interference, and the write/erase power conditions were examined at 5400 rpm. The three-beam drive has a phase margin of more than 35%, sufficient to allow the use of ISO standard 130 mm MO disks. It offers media compatibility over a wide range of write power margins with conventional MO drives. The development of such a high-performance disk drive will promote the adoption and use of optical disk storage systems.