The Differences Between CD and DVD

There are two essemtail phsical differences between CD and DVD disc.First,
thesmallest DVD pits are only 0.44 micron in diameter; the equivalent CD pits are
nearly twice as large, or 0.83 micron wide.And DVD data tracks are only 0.74
micron apart, wherea 1.6 microns separate CD data tracks. So although a DVD is
the same size as a CD,its data spiral is upward of 11 kilometers long-more than
twice the length of a CD's data spiral. To read the smallar pits, a DVD player's
readout beam must achieve afiner focus than a CD player's does. Inorder to do this,
it uses a readsemiconductor laser that has a wave length of 635 to 650 nanometer. In
contrast, CD playrs use infrared laser with a longer wavelength of 780
nanometer. Also, DVD palyers employ a more powerful focusing lens-one having a
higher numericl aperture than the lens in a CD payer.The se differences, together
with the additional efficiencies of the DVD format descrobed below, account for the
huge 4.7-gigayte capacity of each DVD information layer.

A DVD 's capacity can be douled to 9.4 gigabytes-and nearly doubled agaain to
about 17 gigabytes- by two more innovations.Although DVDs and CDs have the
same overall thickness-11.2 millimeter- DVDs possess two subtrates that can carry
information' whereas CDs have one. A DVD 's substrates are bonded together so
thet their pitted surfaces face each other in the center of the of the disc.This setup
shields the surfaces from the danaging effects of dust particles and scratches.
In the simplest design, the second DVD side is accessed by physically removig the
disc from the palyer removing the disc from the payer, tnrnig it over and
reinserting it. An other variation-the mulilayer designenables both information
surfaaces to be payer from the side of the disc.

In a mulilayer disc, the upper subsrate is coated with a partially reflective, partially
trasmissive layer. The reflectivity of the upper layer is sussfficient to enable the laser
to raed the pits in the upper substrate;its transmissivity also permits the beam to
focus on the lower subsrate and read the pits on the in that layer. When the laser
focuses on pits in the upper infformation layer are out of focus and so do not
interfere.(To accommodate the small but unaviodable loss of payerback quality in
this approach, a slight capacity reducction to 8.5 gigabyter inescessary-which expalains
why a double-sided, double-layer DVD would hold about 17 gigabytes.)

Spec CD DVD
Diameter 12cm 12cm
Thickness 1.2mm 1.2mm(.6mm*2)
Numerical aperture .60 .38 to .45
Readout wavelength 780nm 650 or 635nm
track pitch 1.6 micrometers .74 micrometers
 .822 to 3.560 .400 to 1.866 mirometers .440 to 2.054
Pit length
micrometers micrometers
4.7 GB (single layer), 8.5 GB ( daul
Capacity (per side) 650MB
layers)
Scanning speed 1.2 to 1.4 m/s 3.49m/s 3.84m/s
Rotational speed (1*) 200 to 500 rpm 570 to 1600 rpm
Reflectivity 70% minimum 45 to 85%
8/14(8/17 with merge
Modulation 8/16
bits)
User data rate (1*) 1.41 Mbps 11.08 Mbps
Error correction CIRC RS-PC
Error correction
23/34% 13%
overhead
Format overhead 252% 136%
An optical glue of superior quality must be used to bond the two susrates,and the
thickness, of the that must be comtrolled with precision to avoid axecessive
aberrations in the focused readout spot. The two-substrate offers advantages in
addition to increased capacity:it reduces errors caused by disc tilt and warping. All
cd are prone to warping, and awhen a disc's surface tilts so that it is no longer
perpendicular to the laser,reading errors can result. The degree to which tilt
degrades the reades spot is directly proportional to the substrate's thickness.The
DVD susstrate is only 0.6 millimeter thick and so benefits the overall dessign.The
thin substrate makes the DVD less senstive to tilt to than the DC, which has a
substrate that is 1.2 millimeter thick. For other reasons, the DVD is less susceptible
to certain kinds of warping and tilt in the first place.

For instance, sudden changes in temperatures or humidity can cause swelling or

shrinkage in the DVD's plastic subsrates. But because of the DVD's symmetric
construction,changes in one layer tend to countrerct those in the other,reduing the
overall effect of environmental chnges and minimizing the resulting amount of tilt.

Because consumers have already invested agood amount of money in their CD audio
and CD-ROM collections, it was considered a top design priority thet DVD palyrs
read axisting CDs as well as new disc.To make DVD payers with this ability
required specific optical design features. The simplest design is to mount two lenses
in a single optical head-one optimized for a 1.2 millimeter-thick substrate and
another for a0.6 millimetre-thick one -and then to switch mechanincally from one to
the other as needed.

A more elegant solution that emerged uses a single molded optic with a holographic
element at its center.Theelement at its center.The light passing throght the outer
annulus of the lens is unaffected by the hologram and focuses to a spot size in the
plane small enough to be suitable for DVDreadout.About one thid of the readout
beam incident onthe centralpart is focused by both the the and the hohgram to
aspot suitable for reading pits on the thicker CD.