Abstract: To record information as an array of optically changed portions arranged along a track in an optical storage medium, a pulsed laser beam is emitted toward the optical storage medium while causing at least one of the optical storage medium and the pulsed laser beam to be moved relative to each other. A plurality of pulses of the pulsed laser beam are emitted during a time span in which one segment of the track having a length corresponding to a length of one optically changed portion is scanned with the pulsed laser beam. An intensity of light with which a segment of the track is to be illuminated to form each individual optically changed portion is adjusted by causing a shutter to selectively reduce the number of pulses of the pulsed laser beam with which the segment of the track is to be illuminated.

Abstract: To record information in an optical storage medium, a pulsed laser beam produced by a laser light source is split into first and second pulsed laser beams by a beam splitter. The first pulsed laser beam to be concentrated in the optical storage medium supported by a medium support part is interrupted and resumed by a shutter. The second pulsed laser beam is received by a photosensor which produces a detection signal. A controller includes a sync-generator configured to receive the detection signal from the photosensor and to generate a synchronizing signal based upon the received detection signal, and a shutter driver configured to drive the shutter in synchronization with timing represented by the synchronizing signal generated by the sync-generator.

Abstract: The present invention provides an optical head with a single or multiple sub-wavelength light beams, which can be used in arenas such as photolithography, optical storage, optical microscopy, to name a few. The present invention includes a transparent substrate, a thin film, and a surface structure with sub-wavelength surface profile. The incident light transmits through the transparent substrate, forms a surface plasma wave along the sub-wavelength aperture located within the thin film, and finally re-emits through spatial coupling with the sub-wavelength profile of the surface structure. As the coupled re-emitting light beam or light beams can maintain the waist less than that of the diffraction limit for a few micrometers out of the surface with sub-wavelength profile in many cases, this invention can have applications ranging from micro or nano manufacturing, metrology, and manipulation by using light beams with waist smaller than the diffraction limit.

Abstract: To record information in an optical storage medium, a pulsed laser beam produced by a laser light source is split into first and second pulsed laser beams by a beam splitter. The first pulsed laser beam to be concentrated in the optical storage medium supported by a medium support part is interrupted and resumed by a shutter. The second pulsed laser beam is received by a photosensor which produces a detection signal. A controller includes a sync-generator configured to receive the detection signal from the photosensor and to generate a synchronizing signal based upon the received detection signal, and a shutter driver configured to drive the shutter in synchronization with timing represented by the synchronizing signal generated by the sync-generator.

Abstract: An example recording apparatus includes a pulse oscillation laser, a half mirror for splitting the pulse oscillation light of the laser into a signal light and a reference light, an optical shutter disposed in the optical path of the signal light, a beam expander for converting the signal light into a light beam of a predetermined diameter, a spatial modulator for modulating the recording data into two-dimensional image information, a Fourier Transform lens for introducing the signal light modulated by the spatial modulator onto a recording medium, mirrors for introducing the reference light onto the recording medium with a predetermined angle, a system control unit, a laser driver, a system controller, a recording medium drive mechanism, a modulator driver, a data input unit, and a data processing unit.

Abstract: An electron beam irradiation apparatus and method capable of easily curing at least part of a surface layer and/or a resin layer composed of materials that are hard to be cured by irradiation of ultraviolet rays. A disc-shaped object manufacturing apparatus and method capable of efficiently forming, on the disc-shaped object, at least part of a surface layer and/or a resin layer such as light transmitting layer, etc, thereunder. An electron beam irradiation apparatus comprises a rotary driving unit for rotationally driving an object, a shield container rotatably accommodating the object, and an electron beam irradiation unit provided in the shield container so that the surface of the object is irradiated with electron beams from an irradiation window thereof, wherein the surface of the object is irritated with the electron beams during its rotation from the irradiation window of the election beam irradiation unit.

Abstract: An optical pick-up device includes a semi-conductor laser as a laser light-emitting device, a collimator lens, a directional control mirror, an objective lens, a light amount detecting device, a reflecting mirror that reflects leakage light of the laser light onto the light amount detecting device, and a light amount adjusting member that adjusts the amount of light incident on the light amount detecting device, provided between the light amount detecting device and the reflecting mirror. The light amount adjusting member may include a rotatably or slidably-supported baffle of which a rotational angle or slide position is changed so as to adjust the amount of the light.

Abstract: The invention refers to a device and a method for scanning an optical data carrier (1) by means of a main scanning beam (3) being reflected by the data carrier (1) and being detected by means of a photodetector (10), the data carrier (1) having first and second layers (11,12) to be scanned, the second layer (12) being scanned through the first layer (11), light passing the first layer (11) being shaded dependent on local properties of the first layer (11). An object of the invention is to propose a device having increased performance even for use with multi layer disks (1) having a layer (11) causing light fluctuations on a layer (12) to be scanned, as well as a respective method. According to the invention such device is provided with means (2,7,17) for keeping an output signal (D) of the photodetector (10) independent of variations of shading.

Abstract: An optical element supporting device has one ends of two parallel plate springs, which are extended in a tangential direction, fixed to a holder, has the other ends thereof fixed to a fixture member, and has a collimator lens locked in an opening of the holder. A base fixed to the bottom of the fixture member has two yokes formed thereon. Magnets each polarized in two directions are fixed to the insides of the yokes. Coils are fixed to two surfaces of the holder opposed to the magnets. A target is fixed to the holder, and a sensor is fixed to the bottom of the base. When a current flows into the coils, electromagnetic force is produced along an optical axis due to the interaction between the coils and the magnets opposed to the coils. This causes the parallel plate springs to loosen. Consequently, the holder, target, collimator lens, and coils move as a whole along the optical axis.

Abstract: A magnetic pattern forming apparatus, which is designed to form a desired magnetic pattern on a magnetic disk having a magnetic layer on a substrate, is made up of a mask having a pattern identical or similar to the desired magnetic pattern, a projection optical system for exposing the magnetic disk to a spot-like energy beam coming through the mask to heat the magnetic layer for projecting the mask pattern to the magnetic disk at a one-to-one ratio or a predetermined reduction ratio, a magnetic field applying device for applying an external magnetic field to the magnetic disk, a control unit for conducting scanning with the spot-like energy beam with respect to the magnetic disk and the mask in their radial directions while rotating the magnetic disk and the mask.

Abstract: A light source is provided for emitting a first beam having a far-field pattern of an elliptic shape. The first beam is a linearly polarized light having a first polarizing direction in a major axis of the elliptic shape. A half-wave plate is provided for rotating the polarizing direction of the first beam 90 degrees, thereby changing the first beam to a second beam. A beam splitter is provided for changing the elliptic shape of the second beam into a circular shape. The beam splitter is arranged to transmit the second beam and to reflect a third beam having a polarizing direction different from that of the second beam by 90 degrees. A quarter-wave plate is provided for transmitting the second beam from the beam splitter to apply it to an optical disc, and for changing the second beam reflected from the optical disc into the third beam. The third beam reflected from the beam splitter is applied to a photodetector.

Abstract: A master disk exposure device capable of projecting varying sized laser beams on a master disk, includes a slider for moving an optical fiber in a radial direction along the surface of a master disk. The optical fiber projects a beam emitted by a beam generator. The beam is passed through a shutter intermittently before being focussed by a focus lens once focused the beam is projected by the optical fiber onto the recording surface of the master disk.

Abstract: The present invention comprises an arrangement with removable optical element having a predetermined focal distance in the light path between a light source and an objective lens, so as to insert said optical element into the light path between the light source and the objective lens for playing back or recording onto one type of thickness of disk plates, as well as to remove it therefrom for playing back or recording onto another type of thickness of disk plates. Alternatively, by retaining variably the distance between the light source and the collimator lens, the distance between the light source and the collimator lens along with the light path is variably changed according to the thickness of the disk plate being inserted. Then by determining the type of the disk inserted and accordingly selectably inserting/removing the optical element, only one objective lens may be used to conform to the disk plates having different thicknesses.

Abstract: An optical memory system employing multiple reading/writing optical beams from solid state lasers for simultaneously reading from a writing to multiple tracks of optical media to allow reading/writing of closely spaced adjacent tracks, a number a feature are disclosed. These include using vertical writing surface emitting lasers forming an array of beam sources, using lenslets associated with array, modulating the beams, and providing various optical elements and combinations of optical elements to compensate for beam and system imperfections.

Abstract: The present invention comprises an arrangement with removable optical element having a predetermined focal distance in the light path between a light source and an objective lens, so as to insert said optical element into the light path between the light source and the objective lens for playing back or recording onto one type of thickness of disk plates, as well as to remove it therefrom for playing back or recording onto another type of thickness of disk plates. Alternatively, by retaining variably the distance between the light source and the collimator lens, the distance between the light source and the collimator lens along with the light path is variably changed according to the thickness of the disk plate being inserted. Then by determining the type of the disk inserted and accordingly selectably inserting/removing the optical element, only one objective lens may be used to conform to the disk plates having different thicknesses.

Abstract: A recording medium such as an optical or magneto-optical disk divided into servo areas and data areas, wherein at least one of pits in each servo area is formed with a phase deviation. There are also disclosed a method of recording pits on such a recording medium, and an apparatus for recording data on and/or reproducing the same from the recording medium.

Abstract: An optical head device which has: a light source for projecting laser light; a beam splitter for reflecting the laser light onto an optical disk; an objective for focusing the reflected light on an information recording surface of the optical disk to form a micro spot thereon; an optical detector for receiving a light component transmitted through the beam splitter of light reflected on the information recording surface and converting the light component into an electrical signal; a variable aperture device for varying a diameter of the micro spot according to an external input, the variable aperture device being provided between the beam splitter and the objective; and a variable rotation angle diffraction grating for varying a rotation angle of a sub-beam for tracking of the laser light according to an external input, the variable rotation angle diffraction grating being provided between the light source and the beam splitter.

Abstract: A super-resolution optical head device in which a first super-resolution spot having a diameter smaller than that of a diffraction limit is formed on a recording medium by modulating beams emitted from a laser light source includes an optical system, an optical separator and a plurality of optical detectors. By the optical system, the laser beams reflected from the recording medium are converged and a second super-resolution spot is reimaged. The optical separator is constituted by a reflection-type pinhole, a diffraction-type pinhole, a refraction-type pinhole, a reflection-and-absorption type pinhole, or a set of a reflection-type pinhole and a reversed-type pinhole, which is placed at the reimaged position and optically separates the second super-resolution spot into a main beam component and a sidelobe component. The optical separator leads to the optical detectors the main beam component and the sidelobe component independently from each other.

Abstract: An apparatus for recording and reproducing information on and from optical or opto-magnetic information recording media is disclosed. The apparatus comprises an irradiation device for irradiating a light beam polarized in a predetermined direction to an opto-magnetic recording medium an, application device for applying a predetermined magnetic field to the recording medium, an optical device for condensing the light beam obtained through the recording medium, and a detector for detecting the light beam condensed by the optical device. The detector has an effective light receiving surface almost equal to the airy disk size determined by the resolving power of the optical device. The apparatus precisely detects edges of information magnetic domains by using the S-polarized component produced by the opto-magnetic recording medium under the magnetic Kerr effect.

Abstract: A coarse position sensor is provided for an optical recording device to generate a substantially linear coarse position signal, indicative of the position of a coarse carriage along the range of its travel, and which also is substantially immune to environmental and device variations. The sensor includes a light source mounted to a drive frame at one end of the range of travel, a position sensitive device fixed to the frame at the opposite end of the range of travel and facing the light source, and a deflecting optical element mounted to the coarse carriage in the path of the light. As the coarse carriage travels along its stroke between the inner and outer diameters of the optical disk, the amount of deflection of the light beam on the position sensitive device from a reference location will change.

Abstract: An optical disk device includes a light source, an objective lens, a box body and a supporting member. The light source is provided so as not to move to the apparatus body. The box body holds the objective lens. The box body is supported movably to the apparatus body in the tracking, focusing and seek directions by the supporting member. Light beam emitted from the light source is guided to the objective lens by the mirror.

Abstract: An optical data transmission apparatus includes a hole-burning effect element for recording data. Upon transmitting input serial data in a multiplex mode along a single optical fiber, the input serial data are stored in the hole-burning effect element having an inhomogeneous broadening on the light absorption spectrum, and then light transmitted through the hole-burning effect element is transmitted over the optical fiber. At the receiver end, the laser light is divided into a plurality of portions having different wavelengths and these portions are made incident upon a light receiving element array.

Abstract: An optical disk head having a short wavelength light source has an aperture diaphragm placed in the course of its focusing optical system which can change its aperture diameter depending on the pit size on an optical disk in order to allow recording on and reproducing from not only a short wavelength optical disk, but also a long wavelength optical disk. The aperture diameter is made larger for the smaller pit size and vice versa, and the light source output is adjusted depending on the aperture diameter so that the light amount coming from the disk surface to a photodetector cannot be changed with the aperture diameter.

Abstract: An apparatus for storing and reading a magneto-optical disk has a slit shaped aperture located in an air-bearing slider which flies above the disk. Domains of the disk are selected for storing or reading by a light beam. The domains are reduced in size without losing inter-domain resolution by illuminating the disk with the portion of a focused laser beam incident on the disk through the slit, the slit width being less than the full beam width. The slider preferably terminates a wedge-shaped cavity suspended above the medium a distance substantially less than the wavelength of the illuminating light; the thickness of the edges of the slit being substantially less than the wavelength of the illuminating light.

Abstract: An image recording apparatus which is arranged to convert an optical image into an electrical image signal by an image pick-up and to record the image signal via a recording head on a flexible record bearing medium is provided with a head shifting mechanism which, after the apparatus is triggered, shifts the recording head from a retired position thereof to a recording (or confronting) position relative to the medium in response to the operation of the apparatus performed prior to commencement of an exposure operation by an exposure device performed on the image pick-up.

Abstract: Thermomagnetic recording head for use in magnetic tape recording, comprising a layer of a ferromagnetic material set in the vicinity of a magnetic recording medium. A heating means is used to heat the layer of ferromagnetic material locally to a temperature that reaches the Curie point of the ferromagnetic material. Each heated zone is thus demagnetized and constitutes a recording gap for the recording medium.

Abstract: The locally averaged or approximate D.C. value of a variable area optical sound track on a film is first determined, and this information is then used to control the width of a scanning slit at a playback station. The scanning slit width is reduced for small signals and increased for large signals, thereby reducing the amount of non-information bearing area on the film which is included in the scanned area. This in turn reduces the amount of noise from dirt and debris in the non-information bearing area, and by reducing the total amount of light transmitted through the film also lowers the level of quantum noise from the photodetector employed at the playback station.

Abstract: Recovery from a record of data recorded in an elongated information track, comprising undulations representative of the data is effected by an optical playback system. In the system, the data is recorded within two substantially different frequency bands. The optical playback system has a dual response characteristic to provide improved response at the two different frequency bands. A modifying means interposed in the light beam path shapes the light beam to effect this dual response characteristic (i.e., two different bandwidth responses).