Blank CD-R (CD-Recordable) was an important step in the development of the optical media industry, enabling home users to create and duplicate their own discs. How does this type of optical media work?
Many consumers of blank CD-R assume that it is created and burned in the same way that a standard CD is. However, there is a special process used to create blank CD-R that allows it to be burned by users in a CD-R drive that comes with most ordinary computers. To understand how blank CD-R works, it’s helpful to first know how an ordinary CD is made.
How standard CDs are made
Blank CD-R is made in layers. On the bottom there is a thick layer of an acrylic plastic material that protects the data. The laser reads the CD through the bottom. This layer is contoured to help the optical lens read the data. Then there is a thin layer of aluminum where the data is copied. The data is given in a long string of bumps spiraling outward from the center hub of the disc. Finally on top, there’s a thin layer of protective plastic so the CD can be labeled. Therefore the data is read through the bottom but is actually much closer to the top of the disc.
How blank CD-R works
In response to the demand for a blank CD that users could buy and record, blank CD-R was developed. However, there’s no way for the user to get inside the disc and create bumps on the aluminum portion of the data. Therefore, instead of an aluminum layer, there is an organic compound. The laser then burns the organic compound through the plastic causing it to be discolored, and it behaves the same way as bumps do in distinguishing data.
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