CD-Rs are
constructed of a series of layers, which are built upon a plastic substrate. The
manufacturing process for CD-Rs is slightly different from that used to
manufacture conventional compact discs. The following information outlines the
key CD-R manufacturing technologies.
PROCESS | MATERIAL | KEY TECHNOLOGY | FUNCTION ON DISC |
Mastering | Glass Substrage | Laser Cutting | Glass Master |
Plating | Electroplating | Stamper | |
Injection Molding | Polycarbonate* | Stamping w/ Grooves | Substrate |
Spin Coating | Dye** | Thickness Control** | Recording Layer |
Sputtering | Gold | Thickness Control | Reflective Layer |
Spin Coating | Lacquer | Thickness Control / UV Curing | Protective Layer |
Lot Printing | Ink | Ink-Jet Printing | Disc Identification |
Label Printing | UV-Curable Ink | UV Curing | TDK Brand Info. |
Inspection | |||
Packaging |
*Stamping the CD-R with a groove is required because the track pitch
can be as narrow as
1.6 µm. Because of this narrow track pitch, The groove is needed to act as a "light guide" for the higher power lasers used in CD writers operating at a CLV, or constant linear velocity.
**Spin-coating of the dye layer is controlled to create a recording layer just 0.2 µm thick!