According to a press release published at Tech-On, Nichia has announced to start volume production and shipments of high-power blue-violet semiconductor lasers, based approximatively on the following roadmap:
- 180 mW model in June 2007
- 250 mW model in January 2008
Despite the use of an optical head, next-generation DVD equipment can generally record at 4x to 6x speed on a dual-layer disc using blue-violet semiconductor laser models able to emit around 200 mW light pulse and 8x speed using around 240 mW models. Nichia is currently mass-producing a 130 mW model toward recorder/players. The company plans to mass-produce a 320 mW model for 10x speed recording onto dual-layer discs in the first half of 2008.
Nichia has also been mass-producing a model capable of continuous 20 mW output focusing on low-cost manufacturing for replay only equipment since April 2007.
The complete press release can be found here.
