The Drexon Optical Memory Disc of Drexler Technology Corporation mentioned in last month's Newsletter has been selected as one of the 100 most significant new technical products of 1980 by the Editorial Advisory Board of the publication Industrial Research and Development. The I-R 100 Awards are given for products which are considered important, unique, and useful from a technical standpoint. The Drexon disc is a data storage device for high density, low cost storage. Digital data is recorded on the disc using a laser which creates microscopic pits in the disc material. Characters are coded as differing sequences of pits and no-pits. Data is read back with a laser scanner that measures changes in reflectivity. It is possible to read the disc immediately after writing, hence the description of the disc as a DRAW (Direct Read After Write) medium.
The data storage capacity of a single Drexon disc is approximately 60 times greater than that of the magnetic discs now normally used in computer storage systems. Drexler is currently supplying the discs only to companies that wish to evaluate it for incorporation into their products. Commercial availability may be another year or more away [Contact: Drexler Technology Corp., 2557 Charleston Road, Mountain View, CA 94043; telephone 415-969-7277]
