激光器的最早实际应用领域之一就是记录。激光器提供了一种辐射源,这种辐射源便于调制,并且其强度足以使材料产生持久变化(记录)。已用卤化银薄膜作为贮存介质制造出信号记录和图象记录两种系统。正在研制的是光盘技术,它烧蚀掉圆盘表面的特殊涂层。由于即将到来的这些要求不可能靠比较通用的技术获得,所以普遍向激光工作提供资金。这些系统的工程由已导致可以推动目前工艺水平的电带宽、有效的最高光学质量和具有机械精度极限的加工。本文描述了激光信号记录的早期工作,录象的重大成就和光学圆盘记录的近期工作。 One of the earliest practical applications of lasers is recording. The laser provides a source of radiation that is easy to modulate and of sufficient strength to make a lasting change (recording) in the material. Silver halide films have been used as storage media to create both signal recording and image recording systems. Under development is the optical disc technology, which ablates a special coating on the disc surface. Laser work is generally funded by the imminent arrival of these requirements that are not possible with more general-purpose technologies. The engineering of these systems consists of processing that has led to the electrical bandwidth that can drive the state of the art, the highest optical quality available and the limits of mechanical precision. This article describes early work on laser signal recording, major achievements in video recording, and recent work on optical disc recording.