Abstract: An information recording and/or reproducing apparatus includes a laser light source from which a laser beam having a wavelength of from 220 nm to 280 nm exits; and a converging lens unit disposed at a nearfield area of a recording medium and upon which the laser beam from the laser light source is incident. The converging lens unit includes an objective lens and a solid immersion lens. The solid immersion lens is disposed between the objective lens and the recording medium, and is formed of a highly refractive material having a high transmittance. The information recording and/or reproducing apparatus records an information signal onto or reproduces an information signal from the recording medium by irradiating the recording medium with the laser beam from the laser light source.

Abstract: The present invention provides an optical lens having a high refractive index and a low light absorption characteristic in a ultraviolet-wavelength region, a condenser lens fit for the near-field optical recording/reproducing system, an optical pickup capable of dealing with reducing a condensed light spot irradiating a recording medium and making the recording medium higher in density and greater in capacity, and an optical recording/reproducing apparatus comprising the optical pickup to enable optical recording and reproduction in high recording density to be performed.

Abstract: An optical recording medium 10 on which recording/reproducing or reproducing is performed by irradiating a light by means of an objective lens 4 having a numerical aperture equal to or more than 1 wherein an optical recording portion 2 is provided at least at the outer most surface at the irradiation side of the optical recording medium 10 and a relation n≧NA is selected when the refractive index of the recording portion 2 is n and the numerical aperture of the objective lens 4 is NA. Accordingly, it can propose an optical recording medium and an optical recording/reproducing method suitable for a near-field optical recording method which uses an objective lens having a numerical aperture equal to or more than 1.

Abstract: In order to improve reproduction characteristics of a magneto-optical recording medium in a case of being subject to a magnetically induced super resolution readout process utilizing a blue-violet laser beam, there is provided a magneto-optical recording medium having a surface roughness of 0.3 nm or less on a surface of a substrate on which recording/reproduction magnetic layers are formed or a surface of a dielectric film formed on the substrate.

Abstract: In an optical recording medium having a writable area in which grooves are formed along recording tracks and a read-only area in which pits are formed along the recording tracks, sufficient levels of signals required for data write and read can be assured even with the track pitch reduced for a higher recording density. Assuming that the refractive index of a medium provided extending from a light-incident surface to a surface in which the grooves and pits are formed is n and the wavelength of a light used for data write and read is &lgr;, the grooves and pits has a width within a range of &lgr;/7.5 n to &lgr;/6. On the assumption that the width of each of the grooves formed in the writable area is Wg and the pitch between the recording tracks in the writable area is Tp1, Wg/Tp1 is within a range of 18.4% to 31.1%. When it is assumed that the width of each of the pitches formed in the read-only area is Wp and the pitch between the recording tracks in the read-only area is Tp2, Wp/Tp2 is within a range of 35.

Abstract: Information is recorded on a light transmission material such as a light transmission substrate (1) or a light transmission protecting film as a change of refractive index or a change of extinction coefficient or a change of transmittance or a change of reflectance

Abstract: A novel optical disc which, while having interchangeability with a conventional MD or MD data, has a capacity far exceeding the capacity of these optical discs, and an optical disc device. The optical disc and the optical disc device take into account the constraints of the skew accompanying the increased recording density. By setting the jitter produced when recording random pattern signals on one track only to not more than 8.4% and by setting jitter increase on recording signals also on both side neighboring tracks to not more than 4.9%, the skew margin in the radial direction of not less than ±0.7° and that in the running direction (circumferential direction) of not less than ±0.6° are assured.