Abstract: A super-resolution optical recording medium has at least a recording layer and a super resolution layer on a substrate. In the recording layer, a minimum recording mark is formed with spaces within a beam spot of a laser beam in recording. The minimum recording mark has a size of a resolution limit of a reproduction optical system or less, and can be reproduced by the reproduction optical system due to the existence of the super solution layer. The minimum recording mark in an AFM image takes the shape of a convex arc on a leading edge thereof and the shape of a concave arc on a trailing edge thereof (the AFM image is a plan view which can be observed on a surface when the light transmission layer is removed), and spaces have the similar shape to these.

Abstract: A method for recording information on an optical recording medium in which a laser beam modulated into one or a plurality of write pulses with one or a plurality of write powers in accordance with target data to be written is projected onto a recording layer of the optical recording medium to form a record mark. During recording the information on the optical recording medium, a data level and a weight index are assigned to each channel bit in reference data trains before and after the target data. Recording compensation of the target data is carried out in accordance with the sum totals of the products of the data level and the weight index in the reference data trains, so that it is possible to easily carry out high a real recording by writing fine mark/space trains.

Abstract: A super-resolution information recording medium, a recording/reproducing apparatus, and a recording/reproducing method uses an information recording medium provides a super-resolution effect by fluid bubbles. The fluid bubbles are formed in at least a portion of the medium by a light beam radiated to reproduce a signal from the information recording medium. Accordingly, the super-resolution information recording medium has improved optical characteristics, so that better recording/reproduction is possible.

Abstract: An optical recording medium 10 according to the present invention includes a supporting substrate 11 on which a groove 11a is formed, a light transmitting layer 12, a noble metal oxide layer 23 provided between the supporting substrate 11 and the light transmitting layer 12, wherein a depth of the groove 11a is set in excess of ?/8 n but 60 nm or less, where n is a refractive index of the light transmitting layer 12 with respect to a light whose wavelength is ?. Thus, the good signal characteristics, especially a push-pull signal with an enough amplitude, can be obtained when the super-resolution recording and super-resolution reading are carried out by irradiating the laser beam onto the noble metal oxide layer 23. Also, since the depth of the groove is set to 60 nm or less, a grave difficulty never arises in producing a stamper used to manufacture the substrate.

Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide a multilevel optical recording medium in which influence of variation in characteristics of a recording layer in a plane of the recording layer on reproduced data can be corrected The multilevel optical recording medium according to the present invention includes at least a recording layer 12 and is constituted so that data can be recorded therein in a multilevel manner by controlling a state of the recording layer 12 among multiple stages and the multilevel optical recording medium according to the present invention is characterized in that a plurality of calibration signals are stored in the recording layer 12.

Abstract: A supporting substrate 11 and a light-transmitting layer 12, and further between the light-transmitting layer and the supporting substrate 11 a dielectric layer 31, a noble metal oxide layer 23, a dielectric layer 32, a light absorption layer 22 and a dielectric layer 33 in this arranging order when viewed from the light-transmitting layer side are provided. The light absorption layer 22 contains as a main component a material that can be represented by (SbaTe1?a)1?bMAb (wherein MA is an element other than antimony (Sb) and tellurium (Te), 0<a<1 and 0?b<1), and besides, that is different from an intermetallic compound represented by {(GeTe)c(Sb2Te3)1?c)}dMB1?d (wherein MB is an element other than antimony (Sb), tellurium (Te) and germanium (Ge), c is ?, ½ or ?, and 0<d?1).

Abstract: An optical recording medium 10 is provided with a supporting substrate 11 and a light-transmitting layer 12, and further has between the light-transmitting layer 12 and the supporting substrate 11 a dielectric layer 31, a noble-metal oxide layer 23, a dielectric layer 32, a light absorption layer 22 and a dielectric layer 33. The second dielectric layer 32 contains as a main component ZnS or a mixture of ZnS and SiO2, and therein the proportion of ZnS to the sum of ZnS and SiO2 is set at a value from 60 mole % to 100 mole %. Since the material of the second dielectric layer 32 has both high hardness and elasticity, and high thermal conductivity besides, excellent balance of thermal conductivity with layer hardness can be achieved and makes it possible to form fine recording marks in true shapes.

Abstract: An optical recording disc is constituted by laminating a substrate, a reflective layer, a third dielectric layer, a light absorption layer, a second dielectric layer, a metal recording layer, a first dielectric layer and a light transmission layer in this order, and is constituted so that when a laser beam is irradiated onto the optical recording disc from the side of the light transmission layer, the metal recording layer is deformed and/or is changed in quality to form a state-changed region in the metal recording layer and the second dielectric layer and the light absorption layer are deformed and/or are changed in quality to form state-changed regions in the second dielectric layer and the light absorption layer, whereby a recording mark is formed in the metal recording layer, the second dielectric layer and the light absorption layer.

Abstract: An optical recording medium 10 of the present invention has a support substrate 11 and a light-transmitting layer 12, and further has a first dielectric layer 31, a noble metal nitride layer 23, a second dielectric layer 32, a light absorption layer 22, a third dielectric layer 33, and a reflection layer 21, all of which are interposed between the light-transmitting layer 12 and the support substrate 11. In the optical recording medium of the present invention, a laser beam 40 is irradiated on the substrate from the light entrance face 12a, to thus locally decompose the noble metal nitride layer 23, so that record marks can be formed by means of resultant bubble pits. In this case, a gas filling the bubble pits, which are to form the record marks, is a chemically-stable nitrogen gas (N2). The risk of this gas oxidizing or corroding other layers is very remote, and high storage reliability can be achieved.

Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide an optical recording disc which can record data constituted by a recording mark train including recording marks and blank regions neighboring recording marks therein and reproduce the data therefrom even in the case where the lengths of a recording mark and a blank region between neighboring recording marks are shorter than the resolution limit, thereby markedly increasing the storage capacity thereof and can improve the C/N ratio of the reproduced signal.

Abstract: A reproduction method for a multi-level optical recording medium according to the present invention rotates an optical recording medium, on which recording data has been recorded according to a multi-level recording method which sets several levels for light reflectivity of virtual recording cells, emits a reproduction laser beam towards the optical recording medium, and reproduces the recording data based on an electric signal generated in accordance with a received level of reflected light, the method setting the emission power of the reproduction laser beam in a range of 1.0 mW to 2.5 mW inclusive when the optical recording medium is rotated at a linear velocity in a range of 9 m/s to 25 m/s inclusive. By doing so, it is possible to improve the read accuracy for recording data while suppressing the reproduction deterioration of the optical recording medium to a level where deterioration effectively does not occur.

Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide an optical recording disc which can record data constituted by a recording mark train including recording marks and blank regions neighboring recording marks therein and reproduce the data therefrom even in the case where the lengths of a recording mark and a blank region between neighboring recording marks are shorter than the resolution limit and whose storage capacity can be markedly increased.

Abstract: An optical recording medium includes a laminated body in which at least a dielectric layer 6 is interposed between a recording layer 7 and a light absorbing layer 5, the optical recording medium being constructed so that data recorded by a recording mark train including recording marks whose lengths are less than the resolution limit are reproduced. The optical recording medium has reflectance of 20 to 80% and a laser beam is irradiated at a power density of 5.6×108 to 1.2×1010 W/m2 to reproduce the recorded data.

Abstract: A super resolution optical reproducing system, which can recognize a recording mark less than a resolution limit, removes the effect of a high-frequency noise component of a high power signal obtained by irradiating a laser beam with high read power. The same recording region of an optical recording medium is irradiated according to an irradiation spot by a laser beam with an ordinary read power and an irradiation spot by a laser beam with high read power to obtain a ordinary power signal and a high power signal. The ordinary power signal and the high power signal are normalized to an average level by high pass filters and low pass filters of a high power signal processing circuit and a ordinary power signal processing circuit. Then, a subtracter subtracts the ordinary power signal from the high power signal to obtain a substrated signal.

Abstract: An optical recording device 10 of the present invention has a support substrate 11; an optical transmitting layer 12; and a first dielectric layer 31, a noble metal oxide layer 23, a second dielectric layer 32, a light absorption layer 22, a third dielectric layer 33, and a reflection layer 21, all of which are interposed, in this sequence from the optical transmitting layer, between the optical transmitting layer and the support substrate. The thickness of the support substrate 11 ranges from 0.6 mm to 2.0 mm; the thickness of the optical transmitting layer ranges from 10 ?m to 200 ?m; the thickness of the noble metal oxide layer ranges from 2 nm to 50 nm; the thickness of the second dielectric layer ranges from 5 nm to 100 nm; the thickness of the light absorption layer 22 ranges from 5 nm to 100 nm; and the thickness of the third dielectric layer 33 ranges from 10 nm to 140 nm.

Abstract: An optical recording medium 10 having a substrate 11, an optically transparent layer 12, and a first dielectric layer 31, a noble metal oxide layer 23, a second dielectric layer 32, a light absorbing layer 22, a third dielectric layer 33 and a reflecting layer 21 which are disposed between the optically transparent layer 12 and the substrate 11, records and reproduces data into and from the optical recording medium 10 by irradiating the optical recording medium 10 with a laser beam 40 from the optically transparent layer 12 side. ?/NA is set to be not longer than 640 nm when ? designates a wavelength of the laser beam 40 and NA designates a numerical aperture of an objective lens, and setting is done as Pw×0.1?Pr?Pw×0.5 when Pw and Pr designate recording power and reproducing power of the laser beam 40 respectively, while a recording mark train including recording marks each having a length not larger than ?/4 NA is recorded and data are reproduced from the recording mark train.

Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide an optical recording disc which can record data constituted by a recording mark train including recording marks and blank regions neighboring recording marks therein and reproduce the data therefrom even in the case where the lengths of a recording mark and a blank region between neighboring recording marks are shorter than the resolution limit, thereby markedly increasing the storage capacity thereof and can improve the C/N ratio of the reproduced signal.

Abstract: An optical recording medium can be recorded at a high linear velocity of at least 10 m/s while maintaining an excellent light stability and favorable reflectance. A recording medium is constructed of a recording layer on a substrate, the recording layer including a first dye with a maximum absorption wavelength in a thin-film state of 450 nm to 620 nm inclusive as a first dye and being formed so as to include a second dye with an extinction coefficient of at least 0.5 for a recording wavelength. In this case, it is preferable for the second dye to have a maximum absorption wavelength of 620 nm to 750 nm inclusive in a thin-film state.

Abstract: In a data recording and readingout system in which data is recorded and readout, or is readout on, or from an optical recording medium 1 by irradiating a laser beam having a wavelength “?” via an objective lens of a numerical aperture “NA” onto said optical recording medium, while the optical recording medium contains a layered structure formed by sandwiching a dielectric layer 6 between a recording layer 7 and an optical absorption layer 5, with respect to the optical recording medium 1 arranged in such a manner that data recorded by a recorded mark train can be readout and the recorded mark train contains a recorded mark smaller than, or equal to a limit of resolution, the laser beam is irradiated via the objective lens and a solid immersion lens having a refractive index “n” which is positioned between the optical recording medium and the objective lens, so that the data is recorded and readout, or is readout with respect to the optical recording medium by a recorded mark train which contains a recorded ma

Abstract: An optical disc is includes a recording layer, a reflective layer, and a protective layer provided, in that order, on one surface of a light-transmissive substrate and a hard coating layer having a thickness in the range of 1 to 5 ?m on the other surface of the substrate. The hard coating layer is formed by applying and curing a solution comprising a hard coating agent containing colloidal silica and a UV-curable acrylic resin and a solvent containing butyl acetate as a principal constituent. The hard coating layer contains 90 mg/cm3 or less of residual solvent.