San Jose, California-based Micro Linear Corp has announced two integrated circuits that are said to contain all the components needed to read and write data in magneto-optical disk drives. The company says that by putting all the technology on two chips it will lower the cost of magneto-optical disk drive manufacture to a level where users could replace floppy disks and tapes with magneto-optical disks as everyday storage. The company believes sub-$500 magneto-optical drives could be a reality. Micro Linear says its mixed-signal technology, which enables the combination of digital with analogue components, has been the breakthrough, and it adds that the technology can integrate circuits in a variety of other products to reduce their size.
