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magneto-optical drive

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- The magneto-optical (MO) drive is a popular way to back up files on a personal computer. As the term implies, an MO device employs both magnetic and optical technologies to obtain ultra-high data density. A typical MO cartridge is slightly larger than a conventional 3.5-inch magnetic diskette, and looks similar. But while the older type of magnetic diskette can store 1.44 megabytes (MB) of data, an MO diskette can store many times that amount, ranging from 100 MB up to several gigabytes (GB).

An MO system achieves its high data density byusing a laser and a magnetic read/write head in combination. Boththe laser and the magnet are used to write data onto thediskette. The laser heats up the diskette surface so it can beeasily magnetized, and also to allow the region of magnetizationto be precisely located and confined. A less intense laser isused to read data from the diskette. Data can be erased and/oroverwritten an unlimited number of times, as with a conventional3.5-inch diskette.

Examples of magneto-optical drives are the Fujitsu DynaMO, a 230 MB drive used in the PowerPC Apple Powerbook, a note book computer, and the Pinnacle Micro Vertex, a 2.6 GB drive.

The chief assets of MO drives includeconvenience, modest cost, reliability, and (for some models)widespread availability approaching industry standardization.The chief limitation of MO drives is that they are slower than hard disk drives, although they are usually faster than conventional 3.5-inch diskette drives.

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CONTRIBUTORS:	David W. Holyoake
LAST UPDATED:	05 Oct 2004

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