Overview
ISO/IEC 15041:1997 defines data interchange for 90 mm optical disk cartridges (ODC) with a capacity of 640 Mbytes per cartridge. It specifies five cartridge types-fully rewritable (R/W), direct overwrite (DOW), partially embossed (P‑ROM / P‑DOW) and fully embossed (O‑ROM)-and covers the mechanical, optical, format, and testing requirements needed to ensure reliable interchange between optical disk drives and host systems.
Key Topics and Requirements
The standard addresses all aspects required for media and drive interoperability, including:
-
Conformance and Reference Drive
- Rules for claiming conformance by ODC, generating systems and receiving systems.
- Definition of a Reference Drive used for testing and verification.
-
Mechanical and Physical Characteristics
- Dimensions and functional features of the cartridge case and 90 mm disk (hub, clamping zone, shutter, alignment, gripper slots).
- Materials, mass, inertia, runout, and other mechanical tolerances to ensure interchangeability.
-
Format of Information
- Physical and logical track geometry, sector formats, sector marks, sync, ID fields and data fields.
- Support for sector sizes (e.g., 512‑byte and 2048‑byte sectors) and the use of ECC (Reed‑Solomon), CRC and modulation methods.
-
Recording and Media Characteristics
- Magneto‑optical and thermo‑magnetic behaviour, write/erase conditions, read/write signal metrics, mark quality and jitter limits.
- Specific provisions for embossed vs. rewritable areas.
-
Defect Management & Disk Structure
- Disk Definition Structure (DDS), spare sectors, Primary and Secondary Defect Lists (PDL/SDL), partitioning and sector retirement rules.
-
Environmental, Safety and Test Methods
- Operating, storage and transportation environments; temperature shock, flammability and safety (normative reference to IEC 950).
- Extensive test methods and annexes for signal measurements, figure of merit, cross‑track signal, and power calibration.
- Optical media manufacturers for designing compliant 90 mm cartridges.
- Optical drive and system manufacturers to ensure mechanical and format interoperability.
- Test labs and certification bodies performing conformance and media quality testing.
- System integrators, archival and data‑preservation teams implementing long‑term data interchange solutions involving magneto‑optical media.
- Standards developers and procurement specialists specifying interoperable storage media.
Related Standards
- Normative reference: IEC 950 (safety of information technology equipment).
- Developed by ISO/IEC JTC 1 / SC 23 (optical disk cartridges).
- Intended to be used alongside standards for volume and file structure to enable full data interchange.
Keywords: ISO/IEC 15041, optical disk cartridge, 90 mm ODC, 640 Mbytes, magneto‑optical, data interchange, defect management, Reference Drive, sector format, ECC, CRC.