Abstract: The present invention provides a hologram recording material which attains high refractive index change, high flexibility, high sensitivity, low scattering, environment resistance, durability, low dimensional change and high multiplicity, and is suitable for volume hologram recording. Also, the present invention provides a hologram recording medium. A hologram recording material comprising: an organometallic compound at least containing at least two kinds of metals, oxygen, and an aromatic group and having an organometallic unit wherein two aromatic groups are bonded directly to one metal; and a photopolymerizable compound. One of the at least two kinds of metals is Si, and the metal(s) other than Si is/are preferably selected from the group consisting of Ti, Zr, Ge, Sn, Al and Zn. The organometallic unit is preferably a unit wherein two aromatic groups are bonded directly to one Si atom. A hologram recording medium (11) has a hologram recording material layer (21).

Abstract: The present invention provides a hologram recording material which is not required to be subjected to pre-exposure treatment at the time of recording, attains high refractive index change, high sensitivity, low scattering, environment resistance, durability, low dimensional change, and high multiplicity, and is suitable for volume hologram recording. Also, the present invention provides a hologram recording medium. A hologram recording material comprising a matrix material having a softening temperature of 50° C. or higher, and a photopolymerizable monomer which is in a liquid phase state at room temperature. The matrix material is preferably contained in an amount of 50% by weight or more and 90% by weight or less of the whole of the hologram recording material. A softening temperature of the hologram recording material is preferably 0° C. or higher.

Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide an information recording method for recording information in a data rewritable type optical recording medium having a plurality of information recording layers, which can form recording marks having good shapes. In the information recording method according to the present invention, information is recorded in an optical recording medium 10 having at least a stacked L0 layer 20 and L1 layer 30 by projecting a laser beam thereonto whose power is modulated between a plurality of powers including at least a recording power (Pw) and an erasing power (Pe) via a light incidence plane 13a.

Abstract: A holographic multiplex recording method which can keep a recording data rate constant and equalize nonuniformity in recording due to vibrations or the like, and a holographic recording apparatus and a holographic recording medium, which employ the method. In a process of multiplex-recording information, the time of exposure to a laser beam per data page is kept constant, and the laser output power of the laser beam is increased in accordance with a decrease in recording sensitivity of the holographic recording medium.

Abstract: A holographic recording method, a holographic recording apparatus, a holographic recording and reproducing method, a holographic recording and reproducing apparatus, and a holographic recording medium for recording information in an angle multiplex fashion as a hologram in a first format in which either one of signal light and reference light branched out from a laser light source is made to cross the other in a recording layer at a predetermined incidence angle and the incidence angle is changed at a predetermined angular pitch, or in a second format of higher angular selectivity, wherein the incidence angle when recording information in the second format of higher angular selectivity can be adjusted to cover an incidence angle that satisfies the Bragg's condition when recording in the first format, thereby ensuring reproduction compatibility between media of different angular selectivities.

Abstract: A holographic recording apparatus 10 realizes multilevel gray-scale recording by: controlling a reflection type spatial light modulator (DMD 18D) via a control unit 24 so that an object beam in an object optical system 18 is reflected in an exposure direction so as to be incident on a holographic recording medium 16 or in a non-exposure direction so as not to be incident thereon selectively pixel by pixel in accordance with a data page to be recorded; and making (N+1) levels of gradation exposure with a single exposure time t1 given by dividing t0 by N, where t0 is an exposure time necessary for rendering a single pixel of the data page as an ON pixel, and N is an integer of not less than 2.

Abstract: A multilayer holographic recording medium that improves recording density and data transfer rates. The multilayer holographic recording medium, from which information is reproduced by a multilayer holographic memory reproducing apparatus, includes a plurality of deposited holographic recording layers. During recording, a reference beam is common to those holographic recording layers and an incident angle of an object beam is modulated for each holographic recording layer. During reproduction, a laser beam for reproduction having the same condition as that of the reference beam used for recording is projected thereonto, so that diffraction beams are simultaneously generated in the respective holographic recording layers to directions that are the same as incident directions of the object beam used for recording.

Abstract: In a personal identification system 10 for identifying a user on the basis of biometric information, a hologram is formed in a holographic recording portion 13 of an optical information recording medium 12. The hologram is provided by the interference between a reference beam subjected to spatial light modulation by record cryptographic identification information based on the biometric information of the user obtained by a biological information sensor 14 and an object beam. At the time of identification, an information processing device 16 makes validation cryptographic identification information from the biometric information directly obtained from the user, and a spatial light modulator 20 modulates a hologram reproduction reference beam by the validation cryptographic identification information. The right or wrong of a reproduced image is detected, and the leakage of the identification information is prevented.

Abstract: A method of recording data on a double-layer optical recording medium having a recording layer with high light transmittance is provided. A laser beam is modulated to emit a pulse series of laser including a write pulse of a write power and a cooling pulse of a bottom power, so as to encode and write data to be recorded as recording marks of a length nT along a track of the recording layer, where n is an integer and T is one clock cycle. An nT recording mark is formed using (n?1) write pulse(s), and when forming a recording mark of 4 T or longer, a cooling pulse with a pulse width of 0.8 T to 2 T is inserted before the last write pulse. Recording marks are thereby accurately formed without heat interference between consecutive recording marks and cross erase between recording marks of adjacent tracks.

Abstract: The present invention provides a common interface among device drivers 5 operating in the kernel 8, for increasing data transfer speeds and improving data integrity. A common interface driver 7 is provided among device drivers 5, which control devices 6 connected to a computer. The common interface driver 7 operates in the kernel mode 8 and provides an interface with the application program 4. The common device driver 7 receives and analyzes commands from the application program 4 and outputs instructions to each of the device drivers 5.

Abstract: Provided is a hologram retrieval method and a holographic recording and reproducing apparatus for preventing an increase in SNR, a decrease in retrieval accuracy, or the retrieval itself from being made impossible, which would otherwise occur because of a small size of data used for retrieval. Digital information is recorded on a holographic recording medium as data pages DP formed of a two-dimensional bit map image with each page being multiplexed. The data page DP is divided into a plurality of equal data blocks DB11 to 13, DB21 to DB23, and DB31 to DB33, and each data block DB is provided with a data image that is encoded by an encoding method for providing a certain number of ON pixels within each data block DB. A spatial light modulator allows the to-be-retrieved data image to be encoded by the encoding method and displayed as block information on a retrieval data block associated with the data block, and a signal beam to be thereby modulated.

Abstract: When recording on a holographic recording medium by using a recording beam, the time required for an asking servo control to recover is reduced to increase the data transfer rate. In the holographic recording apparatus 10, a laser beam from a laser light source 16 is formed into a collimated beam having an expanded beam diameter and then is divided into an object beam and a reference beam. The divided object beam is modulated according to information to be recorded, and these object and reference beams are made incident on the reflective surface of a rotating polygon mirror 18, while maintaining collimated beam shapes and being adjacent to each other, through a condenser lens 24 having a focal point behind the reflective surface of the polygon mirror 18.

Abstract: A holographic recording medium in which a thick holographic recording layer is formed without the use of multilayering and without accompanying thickness unevenness, scattering, and nonuniformity of dynamic range, and a method for manufacturing the same. The holographic recording medium 10 is configured by sandwiching a hybrid material layer 14 and a photopolymer layer 16 between first and second substrates 12 and 18. The hybrid material layer 14 contains an inorganic glass and a photopolymer as main ingredients. The photopolymer layer 16 subjected to heat or ultraviolet curing is provided on the dried hybrid material layer 14 such that the combined thickness of this hybrid material layer 14 and the photopolymer layer 16 is uniform. The second substrate 18 is bonded and fixed to this photopolymer layer 16 serving as a bonding layer.

Abstract: A method for recording information on an optical recording medium is provided so that it is satisfied that 0.16?(Lv×Tcool)/(?/NA)?0.30 and 0.06?(Lv×Ttop)/(?/NA)?0.14, where ? is a write wavelength of a laser beam used to irradiate the recording layer of a phase-change optical recording medium, NA is a numerical aperture of an objective lens used for irradiation with the laser beam, Lv is a relative speed between the objective lens and the optical recording medium, Tcool is a pulse time of a cooling pulse inserted immediately following a leading write pulse, and Ttop is a leading write pulse time. The method allows for forming a record mark with a good shape and prevents fluctuations at the front edge of the record mark, which would be otherwise caused by the recrystallization of the recording film being held at a high temperature.

Abstract: A holographic recording medium 10 is configured to have a recording layer 12 on which information can be recorded as holograms; and first and second heat generating layers 14A and 14B provided in a pair so as to sandwich the recording layer 12. Then, the first and second heat generating layers 14A and 14B are allowed to generate heat by being irradiated with a heat generating laser beam LB3 having a wavelength that is different from that of a signal beam LB1 or a reference beam LB2 for reproducing or recording information. The holographic recording medium and a method for recording and reproducing the same, and a recording and reproducing apparatus can compensate for shrinkage of the recording layer due to recording or variations in temperature, thereby allowing for reproduction of the holograms under optimum conditions.

Abstract: A holographic multiplex recording method which can keep a recording data rate constant and equalize nonuniformity in recording due to vibrations or the like, and a holographic recording apparatus and a holographic recording medium, which employ the method. In a process of multiplex-recording information, the time of exposure to a laser beam per data page is kept constant, and the laser output power of the laser beam is increased in accordance with a decrease in recording sensitivity of the holographic recording medium.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for performing reproduction position servo-control without reducing the recording capacity of a holographic recording medium. Upon the reproduction of a holographic recording medium 18, part of a reproduction beam serving as a servo beam is projected onto a recording layer 18A of the holographic recording medium 18 from the side opposite to the side of the reproduction beam (a reference beam) along the same optical axis as that of the reproduction beam, and the diffraction beam thereof is detected by a photodetector 26C through a polarizing beam splitter 26B.

Abstract: A white-light reconstruction hologram and a Fourier hologram for data can be recorded in a same holographic recording medium. The holographic recording medium includes, in a substantially identical plane, a white-light reconstruction holographic recording layer region capable of forming a white-light reconstruction hologram, having a thickness of 2 ?m to 80 ?m, and a Fourier holographic recording layer region capable of multiplexed hologram recording, having a thickness of 100 ?m to 2 cm.

Abstract: An optical recording medium and a method for testing that optical recording medium are provided, which can prevent degradation of a reproduction signal in the case where the optical recording medium is stored at a high temperature for a long time, which enables stable recording and reproduction of data before and after the high-temperature storage, and which can achieve high-speed recording and increase of recording density. In the optical recording medium, a reproduction signal output of a recording mark after high-temperature storage that is formed in a recording layer after the optical recording medium is stored at a storage temperature t in a range from 60° C. to 90° C. for at least 50?(4/3)(t?60) hours is 0.9 times or more a reproduction signal output of a recording mark before the high-temperature storage that has the same bit length as the recording mark after the high-temperature storage and is formed before the above high-temperature storage.

Abstract: A holographic recording method and apparatus capable of performing phase code multiplex recording without employing a phase spatial light modulator. The holographic recording apparatus 10 performs phase spatial modulation of a reference beam to be projected onto a holographic recording medium by means of a phase code mask 26 in which phase code patterns are recorded in advance as a hologram and which is employed in place of a phase spatial light modulator in a reference optical system 20.