Glass Master The Glass master is produced directly from the customer's file. An optically ground, glass disc is coated with 1/10th micron thick layer of photoresist. This is exposed or "written" by a laser which produces a pattern of pits, transferring the information from the master.



Father The master disc is electroplated with nickel which, when separated from the master, forms a negative known as the "Father".

Mother The father could be used to replicate CD's, but this would wear out too quickly. Instead, several "Mothers" (or positives) are created by plating the Father.

Stamper In the third plating stage, each Mother is used to create a number of Stampers. These are used to actually mold the pit structure onto the CDs.

Clear Disc Similarly to conventional methods, CDs are made using injection molding techniques and a Stamper.

CD-Rom Disc The information surface is coated with a micron thick layer of aluminium to provide a reflective surface. This is the surface actually read by the CD player. The reflective surface is protected by a lacquer coating. The disc's label is then printed directly onto the disc.