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 The present invention relates to storage devices which use rewritable optical storage media. More specifically, the present invention involves a system and method for extending the life of the rewritable optical media used in such storage systems, thus also extending the operable life of the storage device itself. Furthermore, the present invention necessarily also increases the life of a library which utilizes these storage devices.
 As is clearly recognized by virtually all members of society, the use and storage of data for multiple applications is a critical component of day-to-day activities. The various applications that are using data continue to become more and more complex, thus utilizing larger amounts of data. Naturally, the storage and retrivability of this data is a critical function which must meet the capacity and speed needs of the related system or application. As is continuously seen in many areas of technology, there is a continued desire/demand for bigger and faster storage devices.
 In recent years, optical storage devices have become increasingly well accepted for many storage needs This acceptance is due primarily to the speed and capacity that can be achieved using optical storage devices. Further, some optical storage devices are rewritable, thus making them even more versatile and powerful data storage options. With a rewritable optical storage device, the media itself is capable of existing in two different phases. Consequently, by configuring this media in a predetermined phase at desired locations, meaningful data can thus be stored. Due to the ability to reset the state of material, the storage device thus becomes rewritable and reusable.
 As is recognized, the repeated writing in the same physical area to these rewritable optical disks can be detrimental. As with many physical devices, the localized changing of states in a very repetitive manner can cause thermal damage, thus making it ineffective. In operation, each writing step involves the heating of the media surface, and controlled cooling in order to achieve the desired state. This localized repeated heating and cooling is obviously harmful as it can cause damage to the media surface itself. At some point, the media becomes so damaged that it cannot be utilized for its intended purpose. In order to meet desired performance standards, storage device makers want to have increased life and high cyclability of the media. The current industry target is to obtain a storage system that will continue operating even after 1 million rewrites of data.
 The most damage to the media surface is caused by the thermal shock created when write operations are initiated. Obviously, the sudden turn-on of a laser can cause severe damage to those locations. This is especially problematic if the same data is rewritten in the same location on the media. Specific areas of the data format are prone to this due to the repetitive nature of the recording (e.g. preambles and postambles). Protecting preambles and synchronization fields at the beginning of each sector from over-write damage is especially critical, because they are essential for PLL-capture and sector synchronization. A damaged preamble and synchronization field may lead to loss of a large chunk of data in the sector In the past, efforts have been made to minimize this damage by altering the start location for write operations. Specifically, some approaches have involved a random starting point, within a predetermined range or predetermined write area. This is recognized as the SPS approach (Start Position Shift) that is well known by those in the industry. Versions of this approach are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,091,698 and 6,128,260. Other approaches have involved the reconfiguration or recoding of data in order to alter patterns and rewrite only those portions of data which have actually changed.
 While these approaches certainly have some benefit, they simply prolong the ultimate damage. Consequently, additional measures are desired to increase the useable life of an optical storage device.
 In order to extend the life of the rewriteable media, the present invention implements a method to minimize the thermal shock provided during writing operations. Specifically, the shock is minimized by tapering the write power during the initial portions of a write operation. Most often, this will involve the tapering of write power during a designated portion of the data sector immediately preceding the preamble. Additionally, the same tapering can be accomplished at the end of the data sectors (i.e., immediately following the postamble). In order to avoid interference with the various functions of the preamble and the postamble, separate guard fields are used for this power tapering function. Using these transitions will allow write power to be stable at its nominal value during writing of the preamble and postamble sections. Additional measures can also be taken to extend life such as SPS, and the international writing of marks on existing space and visa-versa.
 In order to accomplish the desired power tapering, the power level must be appropriately controlled while writing to these guard fields. The actual power taper can have various characteristics and can be controlled to form many different wave forms, all in an effort to minimize this thermal shock. Obviously a straight line power taper, over a predetermined period of time, is the most straightforward and easiest to implement. Such a straight line taper does achieve the benefits of minimizing thermal shock.
 In addition to the obvious benefits of the variable power approach, the methodology of the present invention can easily be implemented to complement other methodologies directed toward extending the life of the media. For example, the above-mentioned SPS approach could also be implemented along with the tapered power concept of the present invention.
 Extending the life of the media also has a beneficial effect on related components and systems. For example, storage libraries utilize multiple storage devices, media, and appropriate media handling mechanisms to provide high capacity storage solutions. By extending media life, the related life of the library is also extended—media replacement and re-writing is necessarily minimized. Over time, this also has a beneficial effect on the storage media itself.
 It is an object of the present invention to extend the life of the data media by minimizing the damage caused by continuous rewriting of repetitive data. It is a further object of the present invention to increase the potential rewriting cycles for the media, without compromising any data storage capabilities.
 The above-mentioned objects and advantages can be further seen by reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings in which:
 Referring now to
 It will be understood that the system depicted in
 Read/write head
 Referring now to
 In order to extend the life of rewritable media, the present invention minimizes the thermal shock typically encountered by the data storage media. In typical data storage operations, using the format shown in
 In order to minimize this stress, the systems within the data storage device of the present invention will incorporate a tapered power-on operation. One example of the power curve used by the present invention is shown in
 The storage device of the present invention is coordinated so that this ramp or transition time period (t
 Referring now to
 Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or central attributes thereof. In that the foregoing description of the present invention discloses only exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that other variations are contemplated as being within the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the present invention is not limited in the particular embodiments which have been described in detail therein. Rather, reference should be made to the appended claims as indicative of the scope and content of the present invention.