Abstract: An optical signal recording medium includes at least one signal recoding plane in which an optical signal is to be recorded, and a control information region which is a portion other than the signal recoding plane, and in which a diffraction grating is disposed.

Abstract: An image-reading apparatus includes: a light dividing unit that divides irradiated light so that a part of the light having a first wavelength is diffracted, and a part of the light having a second wavelength is transmitted; a first light measuring unit that measures an intensity of light entering into a first measuring area, and outputs first measurement information indicating the measured intensity; a second light measuring unit that measures an intensity of light entering into a second measuring area, and outputs second measurement information indicating the measured intensity; an image-forming unit that forms an image of a subject for reading in the first measurement area, and that forms a virtual image in the second measurement area, using light diffracted by the light dividing unit; and a generation unit that corrects the first measurement information on the basis of the second measurement information.

Abstract: An image reading device comprises: a light source; a first optical element that focuses light emitted from the light source, the emitted light being reflected by a medium in a first detection area; a first detector that outputs first detection information in response to arrival of light in the first detection area; a second optical element that guides to a second detection area a portion of the light emitted from the light source, which portion does not arrive at the reflective medium in the first detection area; a second detector that outputs second detection information responsive to detection of light at the second detection area; and a generator that generates image data of the medium by revising the first detection information on the basis of the second detection information.

Abstract: A hologram recording material contains a molecule having intrinsic birefringence and a photoresponsive macromolecule represented by the following formula (1). in formula (1), L1 representing a bivalent linking group, X representing a group having a substituent constant ? based on Hammett's rule of a value of more than 0, the maximum absorption wavelength of an azobenzene group bonding to X being approximately 360 nm or less, A representing a group that is a component of a repeating unit with a carbon number of 2 or more that is a component of a macromolecular main chain, nx representing an integer of 1 or 2, and n representing an integer of 1 or more.

Abstract: There is proposed a hologram recording method that includes: generating signal light by superimposing a periodic intensity distribution or phase distribution on an intensity distribution of light that expresses binary digital data as a light/dark image; Fourier transforming the signal light; illuminating Fourier transformed signal light and reference light simultaneously on an optical recording medium; and recording the signal light as a hologram.

Abstract: There is provided a data playback method including: acquiring first image data by illuminating reference light for reading onto an optical recording medium on which a hologram has been recorded by Fourier transforming and simultaneously illuminating reference light and signal light expressing digital data as a light-and-dark image, and detecting an inverse Fourier-transform image of diffracted light which is diffracted by the recorded hologram; acquiring second image data, which is a reversal image of the first image data, by generating combined light by combining the diffracted light and a dc component whose phase is different than a phase of a dc component of the signal light included in the diffracted light, and detecting an inverse Fourier-transform image of the combined light; and computing a difference in luminance for each pixel of the light-and-dark image, by carrying out computing processing by using the first and second image data.

Abstract: A hologram recording method is disclosed in which: signal light includes a plurality of arranged reversal regions in which lightness and darkness of plural pixels of a light and dark image is reversed for an intensity distribution of the light and dark image; the signal light is Fourier-transformed; the Fourier-transformed signal light and reference light are illuminated onto an optical recording medium; and the signal light is recorded as a hologram. Also is disclosed an apparatus capable of implementing the hologram recording method, and an optical recording medium usable with the method.

Abstract: A hologram recording material is used for recording information by at least irradiation with light. The hologram recording material includes photoresponsive molecules, liquid crystal molecules, and particles having an average particle diameter of one tenth or less of a wavelength of light used in the information recording.

Abstract: There is provided an exposure device including: a light-emitting element array at which a plurality of light-emitting elements, that emit light that passes through an optical path of diffused light, are arrayed one-dimensionally or two-dimensionally on a substrate; and a hologram element array at which a plurality of hologram elements are formed at positions, that respectively correspond to the plurality of light-emitting elements, of a hologram recording layer disposed on the substrate, so as to diffract and collect, at an outer side of illumination regions of all of the plurality of light-emitting elements, respective lights that are emitted from the plurality of light-emitting elements respectively.

Abstract: There is provided an exposure device including: a light-emitting element array having an elongated support and plural light-emitting elements, the light-emitting elements being arranged in at least one row along a length direction of the support such that a spacing between two adjacent light-emitting elements is a pre-specified first spacing; and a hologram element array having a hologram recording layer disposed on the support and plural hologram elements formed, the plural hologram elements corresponding with each of the light-emitting elements and being formed such that a spacing along the support length direction between two adjacent hologram elements is the first spacing, and a diameter in the support length direction of each of the plural hologram elements being larger than the first spacing, such that a respective light emitted from each of the light-emitting elements is diffracted and focused toward a pre-specified image-forming plane by the corresponding hologram element.

Abstract: A light-collecting device is provided, a light-collecting device, including: a first volume hologram recorded in a hologram recording layer by interference of a first spherical wave and a planar wave, the first spherical wave passing through a light path of diffused light which radiates from a light incident point, passes through the hologram recording layer and spreads to a predetermined diameter; and a second volume hologram recorded in the hologram recording layer by interference of a second spherical wave and the planar wave, the second spherical wave passing through a light path of converging light which radiates from the same side as the first spherical wave, passes through the hologram recording layer and converges at an image-forming point distanced from the hologram recording layer by a predetermined distance, the planar wave intersecting with the first spherical wave and the second spherical wave.

Abstract: A two-dimensional coding method includes: using a two-dimensional image containing plural reference pixels each having a different brightness and data pixels representing data in accordance with brightness; and coding a binary sequence of plural bits to be recorded as a hologram by matching the brightness level of the data pixel based on the brightnesses of the plural reference pixels.

Abstract: There is provided a hologram recording method, including generating a signal light which is spatially modulated such that digital data is represented by an image of intensity distribution, irradiating the signal light on an optical recording medium after a Fourier transformation of the signal light such that a zero-order component of the signal light comes into focus at a point removed from the optical recording medium, forming a diffraction grating in the optical recording medium by interference between the zero-order component of the signal light and a high-order component thereof, and recording digital data represented by the signal light as a hologram.

Abstract: An optical recording method includes providing an optical recording medium capable of forming both a refractive index grating and an absorption grating by light irradiation; Fourier transforming with the same lens a signal beam that represents binary digital data with a brightness image and a reference beam such that they are focused at a point outside the optical recording medium; irradiating the Fourier transformed signal beam and reference beam simultaneously onto the optical recording medium and forming a diffraction grating at the optical recording medium according to an interference fringe between the signal beam and the reference beam, or according to an interference fringe within the signal beam itself; and recording the signal beam as a hologram.

Abstract: A method for producing an optical recording medium, includes: filling a plurality of spaces with a liquid photosensitive material, wherein each of the plurality of spaces is surrounded by a surface of a sheet material and partition walls that are formed on the surface of the sheet material for separating a plurality of recording areas, and the surface of the sheet material has recessed parts at positions where the plurality of recording areas is to be formed, each of the recessed parts protruding and deformed to a back surface side of the sheet material so as to have a volume in relation to a volumetric shrinkage factor of the photosensitive material; and pressing a member having a substantially flat surface to a back surface of the sheet material to make the recessed parts substantially flat and heating and hardening the photosensitive material to form the plurality of recording areas.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for producing an optical recording medium. In the method, on the surface of a recording layer formed by spin-coating a first coating solution containing a photo-isomerizable component, a second coating solution that contains a photo-isomerizable component that can be isomerized by radiation having the same wavelength as radiation used for isomerizing the photo-isomerizable component contained in the recording layer and incapable of dissolving the recording layer is spin-coated to form an intermediate layer. Since the intermediate layer thus formed cannot be dissolved by the first coating solution, a recording layer is further laminated on this layer. Thus, it becomes possible to make the recording layer thicker and also to provide a high-density recording characteristic.

Abstract: A hologram recording apparatus includes a light source for irradiating coherent light, light separator for separating the coherent light into light for reference beam and light for signal beam, optical path changer for changing an optical path of each light separated by the light separator so that the reference beam and the signal beam may be irradiated simultaneously onto an optical recording medium, a spatial light modulator disposed in the optical path of the light for the signal beam for modulating the light for the signal beam in accordance with a supplied recording signal to create signal beam for recording a hologram, and diffused light irradiator for irradiating diffused light simultaneously with the reference beam at least onto an area of the optical recording medium where the reference beam is irradiated.

Abstract: An optical reproducing method is provided. A diffracted light is generated by irradiating a reference light onto a hologram. A combined light is generated by applying a direct-current component formed by a polarized light having a third polarization component with a first polarization plane having a polarization direction orthogonal to the diffracted light and having the same phase as the diffracted light, and a fourth polarization component with a second polarization plane having an opposite phase to the diffracted light, onto the diffracted light. The combined light is separated into a fifth polarization component including a first polarization component and the third polarization component, and a sixth polarization component including a second polarization component and the fourth polarization component. A first reproduced image is reproduced from the separated fifth polarization component, and a second reproduced image is reproduced from the separated sixth polarization component.

Abstract: The present invention provides an optical information reading device includes: a light source that irradiates, with reference beam, a hologram recorded in an optical recording medium; a reading unit that reads information from a holographic image reconstructed by the reference beam being diffracted by the hologram; a housing; a contact member of the housing contacting a paper; an open portion formed in the contact member, through which the optical recording medium is exposed and towards which the reference beam is emitted; an alignment mark formed at a periphery of the open portion, the reference beam irradiating the hologram satisfying a holographic image reconstruction condition by the alignment mark being aligned with an optical recording medium alignment mark recorded on the optical recording medium; and a viewing portion that is positioned in the housing and through which the alignment mark and the optical recording medium alignment mark are visible.

Abstract: There is provided an optical reproducing device including: a reproducing component that includes a light source, a spatial light modulator, and a light guiding component, with the reproducing component irradiating, with reference light that has been generated by the spatial light modulator as reading light, a Fourier transform hologram; a splitting component disposed on a signal light exiting side of the reproducing component and that splits, into two light waves, the signal light; a first image acquiring component that detects the one split light wave to acquire a first reproduced image; a second image acquiring component that detects light where a direct current component has been removed from the other split light wave to acquire a second reproduced image; and a decoding component that uses the first reproduced image and the second reproduced image to decode data that the signal light has.