DVD will offer consumers new levels of digital video and audio performance, and will render recorded performances with unrivaled clarity and presence. During laser cutting, a laser beam is focused on the glass master and modulated by the DVD- formatted data stream on the cutting master tape. Following a few ancillary steps, the glass master is run through as many as three successive electroforming baths that render metal parts to be used as mass duplication tools, or stampers, in the injection molding stage of the replication process. The glass master is now completed, and the replication process begins. The first stage of the replication process is injection molding.
Molten resin is injected against the stamper under high pressure.
A coat of aluminum is then applied to impart a reflective surface on the disc. An ultraviolet light-curable protective coating is applied to protect the layer surfaces from physical damage and oxidation. An automated inspection then checks for any defects before the bonding process. In Sony's bonding process, two disc halves are fed into a machine simultaneously. A U.V.-curable radical bonding agent is applied to the surface of one disc half, then the two halves are placed together and become permanently bonded at the U.V. curing station.