Polarization dependence of thermal behavior in rewritable phase-change optical recording media

Thermal behavior in land-groove phase-change optical recording has been examined for different polarizations of the incident beam. Three-dimensional temperature distribution in the grooved medium is evaluated by the numerical solution of Maxwell's equations and the heat transfer equation with the finite-difference method. Both experiments and calculations have shown that the thermal behavior in the medium is dependent on the state of polarization and the nature of the track. The calculated mark shapes in a quadrilayer stack are in good agreement with experimental observations.