Sharp Corporation has announced its new 210 mW (milliwatts) blue-violet laser diode, the most powerful in the world when it ships in May, that will triple the write times for high-end DVD and optical disc recorders. Sharp"s new GH04P21A2G lasers takes advantage of crystal growth technology developed for infrared, red, and blue-violet low-power laser diodes. The 210 mW products also feature a newly developed laser chip with a proprietary facet structure, with improvements to the face from which laser light is emitted. Sharp also claims that the new component will provide an record breaking service life of 10,000 hours.
Most currently-shipping Blu-ray and HD-DVD format disc recorders top out at 2X record speeds, though a few can manage 4X speed. The good news, according to Sharp, is that consumers won"t have long to wait for new optical disc recorders with records speeds of 6x, based on the new 210 mW lasers. After releasing sample quantities in May, volume production of 250,000 units per month is scheduled to commence in June. Sample pricing for the Sharp GH04P21A2G component has been announced at 50,000 yen, or about $423 U.S. dollars.