Abstract: A narrow band excimer laser apparatus includes a line narrowing module that narrows the spectral line width of laser light, a nitrogen gas introducing unit, a first valve that restricts the flow of nitrogen gas from the introducing unit into a casing of the module, an exhaust unit that causes gas to flow out from the casing, an exhaust pump for exhausting the gas from the casing, a second valve that restricts the exhausting of gas from the exhaust unit, an atmosphere discharge unit that discharges the gas within the casing into the atmosphere, a third valve that restricts the discharge of gas into the atmosphere, and a control unit that closes the second valve while opening the first and third valves, supplies nitrogen gas into the casing, then closes the third valve while opening the first and second valves, drives the exhaust pump, and causes laser oscillation thereafter.

Abstract: A laser apparatus includes: a laser chamber in which a pair of discharge electrodes is provided; a first beam expander configured to expand a beam width of a beam outputted from the laser chamber at least in a first direction substantially parallel to a direction of electric discharge between the discharge electrodes; and a line narrow optical system including: a second beam expander configured to expand a beam width of the beam outputted from the laser chamber at least in a second direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction, the second beam expander including at least one optical element and a grating configured to perform wavelength dispersion of the beam expanded by the first and second beam expanders, the wavelength dispersion being performed in a plane substantially parallel to the second direction, wherein at least one of the grating and the at least one optical element is arranged so as to compensate for wavelength dispersion caused by the first beam expander.

Abstract: A narrow band excimer laser apparatus includes a line narrowing module that narrows the spectral line width of laser light, a nitrogen gas introducing unit, a first valve that restricts the flow of nitrogen gas from the introducing unit into a casing of the module, an exhaust unit that causes gas to flow out from the casing, an exhaust pump for exhausting the gas from the casing, a second valve that restricts the exhausting of gas from the exhaust unit, an atmosphere discharge unit that discharges the gas within the casing into the atmosphere, a third valve that restricts the discharge of gas into the atmosphere, and a control unit that closes the second valve while opening the first and third valves, supplies nitrogen gas into the casing, then closes the third valve while opening the first and second valves, drives the exhaust pump, and causes laser oscillation thereafter.

Abstract: A laser device may include a chamber accommodating a pair of discharge electrodes, a grating provided outside the chamber, first beam-expanding optics provided between the chamber and the grating and configured to expand a beam width of light outputted from the chamber at least in a first direction perpendicular to a direction of discharge between the pair of discharge electrodes, and second beam-expanding optics having a plurality of prisms provided between the chamber and the grating, the second beam-expanding optics being configured to expand a beam width of light outputted from the chamber at least in a second direction parallel to the direction of discharge between the pair of discharge electrodes.

Abstract: A grating for line-narrowing a laser beam that is outputted from a laser apparatus at a wavelength in a vacuum ultraviolet region may include: a grating substrate; a first aluminum metal film formed above the grating substrate, the first aluminum metal film having grooves in a surface thereof; and a first protective film formed by an ALD method above the first aluminum metal film.

Abstract: An optical recording medium is provided. The optical recording medium includes a multilayer including an N (N?5) number of interfaces capable of reflecting incident light.

Abstract: An optical disc apparatus can make the focus of an information light beam converged by an objective lens agree with a target track of a target mark layer of an optical disc by appropriately predefining the distance between the focus of a servo light beam and that of the information light beam with regard to the direction of the thickness and a radial direction of the optical disc by means of the optical pickup of the apparatus and then operating for focus control and tracking control of the objective lens so as to make focus of the servo light beam converged by the objective lens agree with a reference track of a reference mark layer.

Abstract: There is provided an optical pickup including: an optical-system having an object-lens illuminating a first light for information recording or reproducing on a recording layer as a target and a second light on an optical-recording medium including a reference plane having a reflection-layer and the recording-layer at a layer position different from that of the reference-plane and on which information recording is performed through mark formation, and a focus-aligned-position-adjusting unit adjusting a focus-aligned position of the first light through the object-lens by changing collimation thereof incident to the object-lens; and a focusing-mechanism driving the object-lens in a focusing direction, wherein, when a depth of focus ?/NA2 defined by a wavelength ? of the first light and a numerical aperture NA of the object lens is set to ? and the maximum-surface-blur range is denoted by D, the optical-system is designed so that a use magnification ratio ? satisfies |?|??(D/?).

Abstract: The present invention relates to an optical pick, an optical drive device, and a light irradiation method capable of suppressing a generated amount of shift ?x of a spot position. The optical pickup irradiates an optical recording medium through a common objective lens which irradiates a first light for use in information recording in or information reproduction from a recording layer and a second light different from the first light, the optical recording medium includes a reference surface having a reflection film in which a position director is formed in a spiral form or the like form, and the recording layer which is provided in a layer position different from the reference surface and in which a mark corresponding to irradiation of light is formed and hence information is recorded.

Abstract: An optical recording medium is provided. The optical recording medium includes a multilayer including an N (N?5) number of interfaces capable of reflecting incident light.

Abstract: An optical disc apparatus includes a light separator configured to separate a light beam emitted from a light source into a main beam and a sub-beam, an objective lens configured to, when the light beam is condensed and irradiated to an optical disc having a uniform recording layer in which a track is formed by record marks, irradiate at least part of the sub-beam to an area where the main beam is not irradiated in a radial direction which is defined as a direction of radius of the optical disc, and a signal generating unit configured to generate a mark layer distance signal, representing a distance between a focus of the light beam and a mark layer to which the track belongs, based on a return light beam resulting from at least one of the main beam and the sub-beam, which has been irradiated to the track.

Abstract: [Object] To enable stable void recording to be performed with lower power than in a case where a conventional void recording method that records hole marks (voids) in a bulk layer is adopted. [Solving Means] First laser light is irradiated onto an optical recording medium in which a plurality of resin layers are formed while the first laser light is focused on a boundary surface of the resin layers, to thus record hole marks onto the boundary surface. Since a recording sensitivity of the hole marks is enhanced at the boundary surface of the resin layers, by recording hole marks onto the boundary surface as described above, laser power requisite for recording can be suppressed as compared to the conventional art. As a result, it becomes unnecessary to use a special laser such as a short-pulse laser, and even if a CW laser (CW: Continuous Wave) is used, a recording speed does not need to be sacrificed.

Abstract: Disclosed is an optical disc device that is able to increase accuracy in reproducing information from an optical disc. The optical disc device 10 calculates a focus error signal SFE2 and a sum signal SS1 while reciprocating an objective lens 21 in a focus direction until a distance between a focal point FS and a focal point FM1 becomes close to the depth d of a target position PG at the time of a pull-in operation, and when a trigger signal ST1 generated on the basis of the sum signal SS1 is at low level, starts focus control on the basis of the focus error signal SFE2. Therefore, focus control can start in a state where the focus error signal SFE2 curves in an S shape with sufficient amplitude.

Abstract: An optical recording medium driving apparatus includes an optical pickup which irradiates first and second laser lights from one object lens with respect to an optical recording medium having a bulk layer and a tilt detection surface; a focus control portion that performs the focus control relative to each predetermined position of the optical recording medium in regard to each of the first and second laser lights; a tracking control portion that controls the position of the object lens to perform the tracking control of the first and second laser lights relative to the optical recording medium; and a tilt control portion.

Abstract: [Object] To enable stable void recording to be performed with lower power than in a case where a conventional void (hole) recording method is adopted. [Solving Means] Provided is an optical recording medium including a recording layer in which a plurality of boundary surfaces of resin layers are formed, and intervals of the boundary surfaces are set to be equal to or smaller than a focal depth of recording light. A recording sensitivity of hole marks is enhanced at the boundary surfaces of the resin layers. Therefore, by providing the recording layer in which the boundary surfaces are provided at intervals equal to or smaller than the focal depth of recording light as described above, that is, the recording layer is practically filled with the boundary surfaces, the hole mark recording sensitivity of the recording layer can be enhanced as a whole.

Abstract: A reproducing apparatus includes: a first laser irradiation section irradiating an optical recording medium having a bulk recording layer and recording marks formed by focusing a laser beam on each predetermined layer position in the recording layer, with a first laser beam through an objective lens; a focus position adjusting section adjusting a focus position of the first laser beam; a beam receiving section receiving a reflected beam of the first laser beam from the marks and generating a light receiving signal; a reproducing section reproducing information recorded with the marks based on the light receiving signal; and a control section performing control to allow the focus position in reproduction of the information to correspond to a position shifted by a certain distance to an upper layer side from a focus position of the laser beam in forming the mark at the layer positions as a reproducing object.

Abstract: An optical recording medium includes a recording layer in which recording of a mark is selectively performed in a depth direction by irradiation of first light, and the mark is formed in multilayer form; and a reflection film reflecting second light of a wavelength different from a wavelength of the first light, and provided on a lower layer side of the recording layer.

Abstract: An optical disk apparatus appropriately adjusts the optical paths of a reference light beam and information light beam in an optical path forming section of an optical pickup, condenses the reference light beam and information light beam using an objective lens, and performs position control of the objective lens in the focusing and tracking directions so as to focus the reference light beam onto a reference track in a target mark layer, thereby focusing the focal point of the information light beam condensed by the objective lens onto a target track TG in the target mark layer.

Abstract: An optical disc apparatus includes an objective lens that converges a light beam emitted from a light source and irradiates an optical disc having recording marks formed in a uniform recording layer with it, a detection signal generation section that receives a return light beam from the recording mark and generates a detection signal, a servo control signal generation section that generates a servo control signal representing relative displacement between the recording mark and a focus of the light beam from the detection signal and a servo signal correction section that generates a correction servo control signal by connecting peaks or neighborhoods of the peaks of servo control signals, the peaks being produced according to the recording marks.

Abstract: There is provided an optical pickup including: an optical-system having an object-lens illuminating a first light for information recording or reproducing on a recording layer as a target and a second light on an optical-recording medium including a reference plane having a reflection-layer and the recording-layer at a layer position different from that of the reference-plane and on which information recording is performed through mark formation, and a focus-aligned-position-adjusting unit adjusting a focus-aligned position of the first light through the object-lens by changing collimation thereof incident to the object-lens; and a focusing-mechanism driving the object-lens in a focusing direction, wherein, when a depth of focus ?/NA2 defined by a wavelength ? of the first light and a numerical aperture NA of the object lens is set to ? and the maximum-surface-blur range is denoted by D, the optical-system is designed so that a use magnification ratio ? satisfies |?|??(D/?).