Abstract

We have developed a new low refractive index material “SiOC”, which enables high deposition rates for the rewritable HD DVD media. The SiOC film is formed using the SiC target with Ar and O₂ gas mixture by the sputter deposition method using RF or DC power supply. The resultant deposition rate per sputter power is about three times higher than the rate of the deposition using a SiO₂ target. The obtained thin film consists of substantial amount of carbon (C) as well as silicon (Si) and oxygen (O). However, the film shows almost the same optical characteristics as SiO₂. We demonstrated that the single-layer type HD DVD rewritable media with 20 GB using SiOC film had good recording characteristics similar to the disc using a SiO2 film. We believe that this media can be manufactured at a cost similar to conventional rewritable DVDs in mass production.

© 2005 Optical Society of America