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Technologies
CD-R Technology
Dimensions
A CD is a disc with a diameter of 120 mm a thickness of 1.2 mm. The central hole, used to center the CD, has a diameter of 15 mm.
| It consists of a disc made of polycarbonate (a material with greater solidity and which resists better to high temperatures than regular plastics). A stack ring (0.27 mm high) protects the CD-Rs when they are stacked on top of one another. The stamp holder groove has no specific function. |  |
Components of a CDR
Substrate The polycarbonate disc is the basic component of a CD-R. It has a very important role as the reader will notice when reading the section about the manufacturing process (molding)
Dye 
The polycarbonate disc is covered by an organic dye where the information is stored. The dye will decompose under the effects of the heat generated by a laser beam (wavelength of 780-790 nanometers). The dye blackens under this effect and the information is created. This dye was developed by Ciba-Irgaphor and is called Phthalocyanine Ultragreen MX.
Gold or silver
A gold reflective layer is applied under a vacuum. The layer reflects the laser beam which reads the CD. For economic reasons, silver has gradually replaced gold so as to reduce the cost of the end product as well as increase the reflectivity. Nevertheless, CD-Rs with silver rather than gold layers have a shorter lifespan.
Lacquer
A layer of lacquer is applied to cover the gold completely. It goes beyond the edges and center of the disc in order to prevent any peeling (as the layer of gold tends to peel easily and humidity might therefore infiltrate). This layer is baked under ultra-violet light for two seconds.
Protective Coat
A highly resistant protective layer exclusive to Silver First is applied to the lacquer which makes the medium impervious to scratches.
Printing
This is the final stage before the packaging. It consists of printing graphic information onto the CD-R, such as manufacturer's name, type of product, etc...
Physical Dimensions
- Outer Diameter: 120mm +(-)0.3
- Inner Diameter (Center Hole): 15.0mm+0.1/0.0
- Total Thickness: 1.2mm+0.3/-0.1
- Recording Area: 50~116mm
Material
- Substrate: Polycarbonate
- Recording Layer: Ciba-Irgaphor Ultragreen MX
- Reflective Layer: Silver 99.99%
- Protective Layer: UV Lacquer
Disc Characteristics
- Reflectivity: >65%
- Eccentricity: +(-)70 micron
- Wobble CNR: >35dB
- I3/Itop: 0.3~0.7
- I11/Itop: >0.6
- BLER: <220
- Jitter Absolute: <35ns
- Operating Temperature: ~5°C - 55°C
- Operating Humidity: 5% RH-60%RH
Audio CD-R
The new Silver First Digital Audio CD-R's are write-once, audio-only discs designed specifically for use in home audio systems. Consumers can create and archive up to 80 minutes of their favorite professional originals to custom CD's, which are fully compatible with the worldwide installed base of 600 million CD players. Silver First Digital Audio CD-R discs for consumers are manufactured with phthalocyanine dye, providing the long life guaranteed from Silver First, while also delivering a level of warmth in sound reproduction that is second to none. Available in 80 min.
Optical Media Overview & Industry Trends
Optical Discs have become the extensively used medium when it comes to storing important data, which must not be destroyed. Blank media, as it is otherwise known, is the preferred storage medium due to it being user-friendly, and being able to store large quantities of data that a user could not before store on a regular stiffy disc as well as keep this data for longer time periods, where as with the stiffy disc, the disc could be easily damaged. The total number of Blank discs supplied worldwide was 8 billion pieces for the year 2002. This large number shows that on a daily basis the Blank Compact Discs are becoming broadly used.
What makes optical discs very unique is the way in which they are developed. Recordable discs allow for writing only once, but of course can be read many times. This happens when small pits are burned into the surface by a laser, and when being read the laser catches the reflections of the pits and transfers it back into data for the PC to use. The Rewritable discs however write many times, and is an excellent tool for backing up data. This surface however or a small portion is liquefied when a laser prints the pits into it. The main reason though for the speed and large storage facility the optical discs offer is that the discs have over an estimated 22,000 tracks across the surface and this is why keeping the disc clean and protected is extremely important.
The Silver First Team are well explored in the region of optical discs as this is the main arena where we delve into. Since ensuring that all our products are of premium grade and are maintained at this extremely high level is most imperative to us, to be able to continue at this degree we are constantly updating our knowledge on the most recently released technology in the field and looking to improve it ourselves.