Abstract: The present invention provides an optical information medium having excellent weather resistance and repeating characteristics. The optical information medium has a barrier layer between a protective layer and a recording layer. The barrier layer includes GeN or GeON, and at least one element selected from the group consisting of Al, B, Ba, Bi, C, Ca, Ce, Cr, Dy, Eu, Ga, H, In, K, La, Mn, N, Nb, Ni, Pb, Pd, S, Si, Sb, Sn, Ta, Te, Ti, V, W, Yb, Zn and Zr.

Abstract: The present invention provides an optical information medium having excellent weather resistance and repeating characteristics. The optical information medium has a barrier layer between a protective layer and a recording layer. The barrier layer includes GeN or GeON, and at least one element selected from the group consisting of Al, B, Ba, Bi, C, Ca, Ce, Cr, Dy, Eu, Ga, H, In, K, La, Mn, N, Nb, Ni, Pb, Pd, S, Si, Sb, Sn, Ta, T, Ti, W, Yb, Zn and Zr.

Abstract: In a phase-change recording medium, a recording medium is provided with a barrier layer including Ge--N, Ge--N--O between a recording layer and a dielectric protective layer in order to prevent a chemical reaction and an atom diffusion between the recording layer and the dielectric protective layer. A barrier material can be also applied to the protective layer itself. Thereby, it is possible to considerably suppress a reduction of a reflectivity and a reduction of a signal amplitude due to the repeat of recording and erasing, such reductions being observed in a conventional phase-change optical information recording medium, and thereby the number of overwriting times can be increased.