Abstract: An optical information reproduction device includes a light source (14) configured to emit reproduction light, a plasmon resonance element (9) including a resonance section (22) arranged adjacent to a recording region (4) of a recording layer (2), the resonance section (22) causing plasmon resonance between the recording region (4) and the resonance section (22), a photodetector (17a) configured to detect reflected light or transmitted light from the plasmon resonance element (9) on which the reproduction light is irradiated, and a reproduction unit (24) configured to determine, on the basis of a detection signal from the photodetector (17a), whether the recording region (4) is in a recorded state or an unrecorded state, and reproduce information recorded in the recording region (4).

Abstract: An information device is an information device that records information on or reproduces information from an information recording medium (3). The information device includes a light source (14) and a near-field light generating element (9) including a resonating section (22) configured such that plasmon resonance occurs between the resonating section (22) and a recording region (4). The resonating section (22) causes the plasmon resonance when emission light from the light source is irradiated on the near-field light generating element (9). A resonance enhancing film enhances the plasmon resonance between the resonating section (22) and the recording region (4). The resonating section (22) generates near-field light and irradiates the near-field light on the recording region (4) from a recording layer side.

Abstract: The present application discloses a detection device including a light source configured to emit emission light, a scattering substance situated near a target object and configured to generate plasmon resonance between the scattering substance and the target object, a light guide portion configured to guide the emission light to the scattering substance and cause first reflected light, which is reflected from the scattering substance, and a detector configured to detect a state in phase of the first reflected light.

Abstract: A recording medium (10) is provided with a left-handed material layer (1) having at least one of a permittivity and a permeability of a negative value, and having substantially periodically formed structures; and a recording layer (2) including island-shaped and substantially periodically arranged recording regions (22), and being laminated on the left-handed material layer (1). The structure period of the left-handed material layer (1) is equal to or is an integral multiple of the arrangement period of the recording regions (22) of the recording layer (2).

Abstract: An information recording medium (100) of the present invention includes a substrate (1) and a recording layer provided on the substrate (1) and having optical properties that can be changed by irradiation with a laser beam. The recording layer is formed of a plurality of arrayed minute recording regions (e.g., phase-change particles (2)). A part or all of the recording region is made of a recording material containing Te and O. The recording region has a length of 30 nm or less in an information recording direction. Preferably, the recording material further contains an element M, where M is at least one element selected from the group consisting of Pd, Au, and Pt.

Abstract: An optical information reproduction device includes a light source (14) configured to emit reproduction light, a plasmon resonance element (9) including a resonance section (22) arranged adjacent to a recording region (4) of a recording layer (2), the resonance section (22) causing plasmon resonance between the recording region (4) and the resonance section (22), a photodetector (17a) configured to detect reflected light or transmitted light from the plasmon resonance element (9) on which the reproduction light is irradiated, and a reproduction unit (24) configured to determine, on the basis of a detection signal from the photodetector (17a), whether the recording region (4) is in a recorded state or an unrecorded state, and reproduce information recorded in the recording region (4).

Abstract: The present invention contributes to getting a reproduction/recording operation done with stability on an information recording medium by utilizing an absorption edge shifting phenomenon. An apparatus 100 according to the present invention includes: a light source 20 for emitting a laser beam; a lens 6 for condensing the beam onto an information recording medium 21; and a photodetector 19 for detecting light reflected from the medium 21, of which a recording layer includes a material that absorbs the beam at an increasing absorptance as the absorption edge of a light absorption spectrum shifts, with a rise in temperature, toward a longer wavelength range as a result of a band-to-band transition of electrons.

Abstract: To provide an information recording medium which is capable of reducing damage to a recording layer while improving environmental resistance of the recording layer and which enables information to be recorded or reproduced at a high density and a high sensitivity, an optical information recording and reproducing apparatus, an optical information recording and reproducing method, and a manufacturing method of an information recording medium.

Abstract: An information recording medium of the present invention is an information recording medium characterized by and including a substrate; and a recording unit capable of recording three-dimensionally a recording pit on the substrate; in which the recording unit has n number of recording layers (n is an integer equal to or larger than 4) and a plurality of intermediate layers laminated with the recording layers one on another; the recording is performed by the condensed recording light using a two photon absorption phenomenon; each of the plurality of intermediate layers is substantially transparent at a wavelength ?1 of the recording light and at a wavelength ?2 of the reproduction light, respectively; the light intensity of the recording light incident into the recording layer nearest to the substrate is more than 0.707 fold as much as the light intensity of the recording light incident into the recording layer farthest from the substrate.

Abstract: An optical information recording/reproducing device is provided with a first light source 20a for emitting recording light 22a, a second light source 20b for emitting reproducing light 22b, an objective lens 6 for focusing the emitted lights from the both light sources 20a, 20b on an information recording medium including a recording region 3 capable of three-dimensional recording and photodetectors 19a, 19b for detecting reflected lights 7a?, 7b? from the information recording medium, and records information on recording layers 1a to 1e utilizing a nonlinear absorption phenomenon. At the objective lens 6, an average rim intensity of the recording light 7a is lower than that of the reproducing light 7b.

Abstract: An information recording medium of the optical information reproduction device of the present invention includes a recording unit capable of recording information three-dimensionally and provided with a track, and information is recorded by forming a plurality of recording marks along the track of the recording unit by a mark length recording method. When the track direction of the recording marks is assumed to be their longitudinal direction and the direction perpendicular to the track direction is assumed to be their lateral direction, with the present invention, for recording marks located substantially in the same plane, the total area of elongated recording marks, whose longitudinal length is greater than their lateral length, is greater than the total area of recording marks having other than elongated shapes.

Abstract: An information recording medium is provided that includes a recording portion (3), which is irradiated with a recording light or a reproducing light so that information is recorded or reproduced thereto or therefrom. The recording portion (3) contains a first phosphor and a photon-mode photosensitive material. The first phosphor has a property of absorbing a first light having a wavelength of ?1/n and then emitting a second light having a wavelength longer than that of the first light, where ?1 is a wavelength of the recording light. The photosensitive material absorbs the second light and then exhibits a change in an optical constant thereof. A n-photon absorption sensitivity of the first phosphor with respect to the recording light is greater than a n-photon absorption sensitivity of the photosensitive material with respect to the recording light, where n is an integer not less than 2.

Abstract: An information recording medium includes a substrate and a recording portion having recording layers on the substrate, wherein the recording portion is capable of three-dimensional recording by changing an optical constant of the recording layers by irradiation of recording light, and a first reflected-light reducing portion for reducing reflected lights of reproducing light from the substrate side is provided at a side opposite to an incident side of the reproducing light with respect to the recording portion, and an optical information recording/reproducing apparatus records and reproduces information to and from the medium.

Abstract: An information-recording medium having a substrate and a recording part formed on the substrate allowing three-dimensional formation of recording pits, the recording part, comprising multiple recording layers, in which the recording pits are formed with a converged recording light at a wavelength of ?2 and reproduced with a converged reproducing light with a wavelength ?1 shorter than the wavelength ?2, and intermediate layers alternately laminated between the recording layers, wherein the reflectance at the recording light wavelength of ?2 in the unrecorded region is smaller than the reflectance at the reproducing light wavelength of ?1 in the unrecorded regions of the recording layers.

Abstract: The present invention contributes to getting a reproduction/recording operation done with stability on an information recording medium by utilizing an absorption edge shifting phenomenon. An apparatus 100 according to the present invention includes: a light source 20 for emitting a laser beam; a lens 6 for condensing the beam onto an information recording medium 21; and a photodetector 19 for detecting light reflected from the medium 21, of which a recording layer includes a material that absorbs the beam at an increasing absorptance as the absorption edge of a light absorption spectrum shifts, with a rise in temperature, toward a longer wavelength range as a result of a band-to-band transition of electrons.

Abstract: A laser beam 32 reflected by an information layer of a multilayer optical disc 26 is reflected and split by reflecting surfaces 31a?, 31b, 31c and 31d to be incident on a photodetector element 36 as laser beams 33, 34 and 35. The laser beam 34 is collected on a light receiving region 38 for RF detection to generate an RF signal. The laser beams 33, 35 are incident on light receiving regions 37a, 37b for focus detection, and a focus error signal is generated by an SSD method. A laser beam 65 reflected by an information layer adjacent to the above information layer partially transmits through the reflecting surface 31a? to be imaged on a light receiving region 66 for tracking detection, and a tracking error signal is generated.

Abstract: In a confocal optical system having a light source 13, a first focusing means 14, a second focusing means 16, an aperture 17, and a detector 18 including a plurality of light reception regions, a position displacement is detected by detecting an intensity distribution of an image caused by a position displacement between a focusing spot of the second focusing means 16 and the aperture 17, by the detector 18. Further, the position displacement is corrected by controlling the aperture position using driving means 19 and control means 20. Also, a position displacement of the aperture 17 in the optical axis direction is detected and corrected on the basis of a change in an output of the detector 18 by oscillating the aperture 17 in the optical axis direction.

Abstract: An optical recording medium which is a multilayer optical recording medium including a plurality of recording layers and records or reproduces information by the irradiation of light having a wavelength of ?0. At least one recording layer out of a plurality of recording layers includes a variable absorption film. The variable absorption film contains a material in which an electron energy has a band structure, and the absorption end of an absorption spectrum moves toward a longer wavelength side with a rise in temperature when light is absorbed by transition between electron bands, has a first absorptance to light having a wavelength of ?0 when a film temperature is a first temperature (application environment temperature), and has a second absorptance higher than the first absorptance to light having a wavelength of ?0 when a film temperature is a second temperature higher than the first temperature.

Abstract: An optical information recording/reproducing device is provided with a first light source 20a for emitting recording light 22a, a second light source 20b for emitting reproducing light 22b, an objective lens 6 for focusing the emitted lights from the both light sources 20a, 20b on an information recording medium including a recording region 3 capable of three-dimensional recording and photodetectors 19a, 19b for detecting reflected lights 7a?, 7b? from the information recording medium, and records information on recording layers 1a to 1e utilizing a nonlinear absorption phenomenon. At the objective lens 6, an average rim intensity of the recording light 7a is lower than that of the reproducing light 7b.

Abstract: An information recording medium of the present invention is an information recording medium characterized by and including a substrate; and a recording unit capable of recording three-dimensionally a recording pit on the substrate; in which the recording unit has n number of recording layers (n is an integer equal to or larger than 4) and a plurality of intermediate layers laminated with the recording layers one on another; the recording is performed by the condensed recording light using a two photon absorption phenomenon; each of the plurality of intermediate layers is substantially transparent at a wavelength ?1 of the recording light and at a wavelength ?2 of the reproduction light, respectively; the light intensity of the recording light incident into the recording layer nearest to the substrate is more than 0.707 fold as much as the light intensity of the recording light incident into the recording layer farthest from the substrate.