Abstract: An optical pickup apparatus aiming at reduction of adverse effect on a tracking control signal and a data signal by preventing the reflected light from the adjacent layers of a multilayer disc changing to a stray light. In this optical pickup apparatus, the reflected light from the optical disc including the stray light from the adjacent layer is once focused with a focusing lens and is then reflected with the reflection plate. A flat attenuation element is provided between the lens and the reflection plate parallel to the optical axis with inclusion of the optical axis under the condition separated from the reflection plate. The reflection plate reflects the reflected light from the relevant layer and the attenuation element shields the reflected light from the adjacent layer. The light returning to the focusing lens includes less influence of the stray light. This light is detected with a detector to become a control signal and a data signal.

Abstract: An optical disc apparatus includes a laser diode, a first optical component which branches beams from the laser diode into a first beam and a second beam, an objective lens which focuses the first beam on an optical information recording medium, an actuator which drives the objective lens in an optical axis direction, a reference mirror provided in an optical path of the second beam, an optical path length varying unit which varies an optical path length of the second beam, a first photo detector, a second photo detector, a second optical component which branches beams obtained by combining the first beam which is reflected by the optical information recording medium and the second beam which is reflected by the reference mirror and which makes the branched beams incident on the first and second photo detectors, and a signal processing part.

Abstract: In multilayer optical discs and high-speed optical discs, the amount of reproduction light per unit time greatly decreases and the reproduction signal quality (S/N) significantly drops due to the low effective reflectivity and the short read time of the medium. These problems are solved by causing reflected signal light from the optical disc and reference light, which is separated from the same light source and introduced into a detector without being shone onto the optical disc, to interference with each other on the detector. Detector outputs having four different interference states are simultaneously obtained, the interference states being displaced at intervals of 90° in terms of the phase relationship between the reference light and the signal. Based on a operation of the four detector outputs, a reproduction signal can be obtained that is stable at all times and amplified with high quality, even when there is an optical path length variation due to disc undulations.

Abstract: A monocular holographic storage device or system to provide for compact recording and/or reading of data pages in a holographic storage medium. Also provided are methods for carrying out such data storage and/or data recovery using a monocular holographic storage device or system. Further provided are articles including holographic storage media for recording or for reading recorded data using such devices or systems.

Abstract: Provided is an optical disc apparatus including an interference-type optical disk signal detection system, which allows an optical path difference between two kinds of light to be controlled easily, which has a high signal amplification effect, and which is suitable for miniaturization of an optical system. An interference-type optical system is integrally formed to stabilize an optical path difference between signal light and reference light. At the same time, means for controlling an optical path length of the reference light is attached to a reference mirror, and thereby controls signal amplitude so as to be constantly set the maximum in response to a change in the optical path length with time due to a variation in the thickness of a cover layer of an optical disk, a temperature and the like. Moreover, the optical system is miniaturized by using a Twyman-Green type interference optical system.

Abstract: The adverse influence of reflected light from adjacent layers as stray light on a control signal or data signal is reduced when tracking a multilayered optical disc using differential push-pull method. The reflected light from the optical disc including stray light from an adjacent layer is once condensed with a condenser lens having little aberration and is then reflected by a reflecting mirror having a partial reflecting region. The resultant reflected light, which has the influence of stray light reduced, passes through a polarization beam splitter and becomes incident on a four-quadrant detector (for main beam) and a split detector (for sub beam) via a condenser lens having astigmatic aberration.

Abstract: The amount of reflected light from an adjacent layer in a multilayer optical disc is reduced by means of a combination of half-wave plates having different optical axes and a flat mirror. The polarization direction of the reflected light from a target layer is changed without changing the polarization direction of reflected light from the adjacent layer so as to detect a signal from the target layer alone. Because no stray light is introduced into the tracking error signal or focus signal, the laser light irradiated position can be controlled with high accuracy. This makes it possible to accurately determine the laser irradiated position during reading and writing, thereby enhancing signal quality. Because no reflected light from the adjacent layer is introduced into the data signal, a data signal with reduced error can be obtained.

Abstract: There is a need to accurately lock focus of a laser beam onto a target data layer of a multilayer optical disc. The above need can be addressed by, for example, performing a focus lock operation after a spherical aberration correction amount is set in such a way as to make smaller the ratio of the focus error signal waveform amplitude at the data layer adjacent to a target data layer through which a laser beam passes earlier than through the target data layer to the focus error signal waveform amplitude at the target data layer than that when the spherical aberration correction amount is set so as to be optimal for the target data layer.

Abstract: A small-sized optical disc drive includes one voice coil motor magnet within which a tracking coil and two focusing coils are disposed such that the tracking coil straddles the two poles of permanent magnets that are adjacently disposed. The two focusing coils are disposed on either side of the tracking coil, with each of the two focusing coils being only disposed over one of the permanent magnets.

Abstract: An optical disk apparatus for correcting astigmatism that influences the read/write. If there is astigmatism, and auto-focus and tracking control are in operation, then a push-pull signal amplitude and a 2T signal amplitude vary with the variation of an amount of spherical aberration, resulting in two cases. In one case, the amount of spherical aberration to give the maximum value of push-pull signal amplitude agrees with the amount of spherical aberration to give the maximum value of 2T signal amplitude, and in the other case the two amounts do not agree. If there is no astigmatism, two amounts agree each other. If there in no agreement, then correction is made by using an astigmatism correcting element until the agreement is reached between the two. In the case where two amounts agree, specification is made for the existence and angle of astigmatism, and correction is made by using focus error signals from adjacent tracks.

Abstract: Disclosed herewith is a data recording and reading equipment capable of reducing laser noise easily. At first, a laser beam source that can reduce the laser noise when reading data from a subject optical disk is obtained. A modulator capable of varying laser attenuation with a voltage is disposed so as to precede the laser, thereby the laser noise when reading data from the optical disk can be reduced without lowering the laser power when in writing.

Abstract: To achieve stable, high capacity, high speed recording. Of two light beams emitted from a light irradiation means, one or two beams are made pass through an optical path changeable member whereof at least one of the thickness and refractive index changes continuously or in two or more steps immediately after emission from the light irradiation means, so that a difference is introduced into the optical path length of the two beams, and the focusing point of one beam is made to vary to coincide with a position in the recording layer used for playback or recording. Another light beam is used for servo. Converging of light during recording or read of a multilayer recording medium is performed with higher precision than in the prior art, so higher density, higher capacity recording/playback can be performed.

Abstract: A combined aspherical lens has an aspherical shape with an intermediate substrate thickness between the substrate thicknesses of a BD and an HD in a numerical aperture (NA) range for the HD, and an aspherical shape dedicated to the BD in an NA range for the BD only. The lens is designed such that wave aberration occurring through the NA range for the HD for BD reproduction has the same aberration form as but has an opposite sign to wave aberration occurring through this range for HD reproduction. Further, in the NA range for the HD, a pattern of annular transparent electrodes is optimized for a spherical aberration wavefront defocused to minimize the maximum inclination of the wave aberration. A phase shift applied is within plus or minus half wave excluding an integer wavelength of aberration.

Abstract: A rewritable optical disk apparatus, optical information recording and reproducing apparatus or the like is allowed to automatically and properly adjust the optical system to the optimum focal condition regardless of the readout signal detector's positional error and the residual aberration in the optical system. The spherical aberration and defocus are coarsely adjusted using the amplitude (PP amplitude) of the tracking error signal and then finely adjusted using the amplitude (RF amplitude) of the readout signal. Since the spherical aberration can properly be adjusted, it is possible to raise the reliability of the readout signal.

Abstract: A monocular holographic storage device or system to provide for compact recording and/or reading of data pages in a holographic storage medium. Also provided are methods for carrying out such data storage and/or data recovery using a monocular holographic storage device or system. Further provided are articles comprising holographic storage media for recording or for reading recorded data using such devices or systems.

Abstract: Disclosed herewith is a data recording and reading equipment capable of reducing laser noise easily. At first, a laser beam source that can reduce the laser noise when reading data from a subject optical disk is obtained. A modulator capable of varying laser attenuation with a voltage is disposed so as to precede the laser, thereby the laser noise when reading data from the optical disk can be reduced without lowering the laser power when in writing.

Abstract: Two optical discs used with a laser light having the same wavelength but having different substrate thicknesses can be handled by a single optical disc apparatus and a multilayer optical disc can also be reproduced. A refractive lens unit and liquid crystal elements are provided so as to condense laser light on an optical disc having a thin substrate thickness with a first NA and to condense laser light on an optical disc having a thick substrate thickness with a second NA smaller than the first NA. The refractive lens unit is designed such that the amount of RMS wavefront aberration is minimized with respect to an intermediate substrate thickness between the two optical discs in the range of the second NA; and the RMS wavefront aberration is 0.05? or less with respect to the substrate thickness of the optical disc in an area outside the second NA. A liquid crystal element for compatibility corrects spherical aberration due to the difference in substrate thickness between the two optical discs.

Abstract: A rewritable optical disk apparatus, optical information recording and reproducing apparatus or the like is allowed to automatically and properly adjust the optical system to the optimum focal condition regardless of the readout signal detector's positional error and the residual aberration in the optical system. The spherical aberration and defocus are coarsely adjusted using the amplitude (PP amplitude) of the tracking error signal and then finely adjusted using the amplitude (RF amplitude) of the readout signal. Since the spherical aberration can properly be adjusted, it is possible to raise the reliability of the readout signal.

Abstract: An optical pickup apparatus aiming at reduction of adverse effect on a tracking control signal and a data signal by preventing the reflected light from the adjacent layers of a multilayer disc changing to a stray light. In this optical pickup apparatus, the reflected light from the optical disc including the stray light from the adjacent layer is once focused with a focusing lens and is then reflected with the reflection plate. A flat attenuation element is provided between the lens and the reflection plate parallel to the optical axis with inclusion of the optical axis under the condition separated from the reflection plate. The reflection plate reflects the reflected light from the relevant layer and the attenuation element shields the reflected light from the adjacent layer. The light returning to the focusing lens includes less influence of the stray light. This light is detected with a detector to become a control signal and a data signal.

Abstract: In an optical head, if a lens is reduced in size so that it can be integrated with a light source and a photodetector, other optical components as well as the lens must be reduced in size, which would result in greater difficulties in handling for assembly and adjustment purposes. The invention allows large quantities of ultra-small optical heads to be produced accurately and at low cost, the optical heads being easy to adjust and not requiring the handling of minute components for adjustment purposes. A first substrate includes lenses for focusing light on an information storage medium, a second substrate includes detectors and disposed on the surface thereof, and a layer, which is disposed between the first and second substrates, includes prisms and mirrors. The layer also includes cavities in which light sources are disposed. The individual substrates are formed in the form of wafers with the lenses, mirrors, prisms, light sources, and photodetectors disposed thereon.