OPTICAL RECORDING MEDIUM AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF
A manufacturing method for an optical recording medium, comprises the steps of depositing a recording layer on a substrate, forming an intermediate layer on the recording layer, transferring a depression-protrusion contour to the intermediate layer by use of a transmissive stamper, removing the transmissive stamper away from the intermediate layer, and recycling the transmissive stamper as the substrate of another optical recording medium.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical recording medium for recording and reproducing information, by use of laser beams, and a manufacturing method thereof, and more particularly to an optical recording medium having a plurality of information recording layers (hereinafter, referred to as “recording layers”) and a manufacturing method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, data handled by an information processing apparatus such as a computer or a video apparatus has diversified into various types of information such as sound, image, and moving image, whereby various types of recording modes and information recording media have been utilized. The required data sizes of the information recording media have been increasing, and the demand for high density has been being raised.
Optical disks record and reproduce information with a laser beam focused at a small region on an information recording surface; any type of optical disk is of excellent high density, detachable (removable), and low-bit-cost, and is utilized in diverse applications such as data distribution and information backup. Optical disks are roughly classified into a reproduction-only type, a write-once type, and a rewritable type, based on the structure of a recording layer.
Basically, the recording capacity of an optical disk is proportional to the recording density and the area of the information recording surface; the recording density is in inverse proportion to the size of a focused laser spot. A laser-spot diameter is determined by γ/NA (γ and NA denote a laser wavelength and a numerical aperture, respectively); therefore, it is conceivable that, in order to increase the recording capacity, the information area is increased by utilizing a short-wavelength laser beam and enlarging the numerical aperture of the lens. However, shortening a laser beam wavelength is restricted by the elements and enlarging the diameter of a disk so as to increase the information area makes the handling of the disk difficult. Thus, enlarging a numerical aperture and providing a multilayered recording layer so as to increase the information area are main research themes.
With increase in the numerical aperture of a lens, it is required to shorten the distance between the lens and the information recording surface; therefore, the structure of an optical disk has been changed.
In the case of a CD (compact disk), an information recording surface is provided on a substrate of 1.2 mm in thickness and, a laser beam is radiated from the substrate side through the substrate to achieve recording and reproduction.
In a DVD (digital versatile disk), recording and reproducing have been accomplished through the substrate in a similar way. However, the thickness of the substrate on which the information recording surface is provided has been reduced to 0.6 mm to bring the lens close to the information recording surface. In order to reinforce the disk, a dummy substrate of 0.6 mm in thickness is attached to the surface opposite to the laser incident face of the information recording surface.
In the case of a BD (Blue-ray Disc) in which high density has been further achieved, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-260307, a plurality of recording layers are laminated on a 1.1 mm-thick resin substrate that is a base for an optical disk, and a protection layer of approximately 0.1 mm in thickness is provided on the recording layer. A laser beam is radiated from the protection-layer side so as to shorten the distance between the optical system and the information recording surface, thereby enlarging lens numerical aperture. A structure is employed in which the recording layers are separated from one another, by respective intermediate layers, and the laser beam focused on a specific recording layer does not affect other recording layers.
A type of DVD, which uses two layered information recording films, has been put to practical use. Two methods of manufacturing the DVD have been known. In one of the methods, which is known as “combining”, two 0.6 mm-thick substrates having a recording layer thereon are bonded together with an intermediate layer in-between. In the other method, a first recording layer, an intermediate layer, and a second recording layer are formed on a substrate of 0.6 mm in thickness, and a dummy substrate is finally bonded to the second recording layer. The combining is effective as a manufacturing method of a two-layer type DVD; however, it is not easily applied to a BD because the protection layer in the BD is thin and difficult to handle. In bonding a dummy substrate to the second recording layer, a transmissive stamper used to form track grooves on the intermediate layer can be diverted to the dummy substrate; this has not been a cost factor. However, this method cannot be applied to the BD that does not have a dummy substrate.
A conventional technique will be further explained, by exemplifying a typical manufacturing method for a rewritable type BD having two recording layers.
In the first place, a first recording layer 210 is formed on the main surface of a substrate 110 molded by use of a typical resin molding machine, on which information-tracking guide grooves (hereinafter, referred to as “tracking grooves”) are formed (in
Next, an ultraviolet curing resin, which becomes an intermediate layer, is dispensed through a nozzle 700 on the rotating first recording layer 210, and an intermediate layer 310 is spin-coated up to approximately 5 to 40 μm in thickness (in
A transmissive stamper 120 is closely contacted to the formed intermediate layer 310, and then ultraviolet rays 900 are radiated onto the intermediate layer 310 so as to cure the intermediate layer 310 (in
A second recording layer 220 is formed on the top surface of the intermediate layer 310 in which the tracking grooves have been formed (in
A protection layer 400 of 50 to 200 μm in thickness is formed on the top face of the second recording layer 220, so that a BD is completed (in
It is conceivable that, in order to make the transmissive stamper 120 durable to radiated ultraviolet rays, the stamper 120 is made of glass. However, it is difficult to remove the glass-made stamper after the intermediate layer has been cured. Thus, a resin material, which has superior separability, is generally utilized as a material for the transmissive stamper 120. However, radiation of ultraviolet rays makes a resin material alter and reduces the transmittance of the resin material. For that reason, a resin-made transmissive stamper is not recurrently utilized and discarded (in
The present invention has been made in consideration of the foregoing situation of the conventional techniques, and a used transmissive stamper is recycled so that production costs and waste disposal are reduced.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a manufacturing method for an optical recording medium, comprising the steps of: depositing a recording layer on a substrate; forming an intermediate layer on the recording layer; transferring a depression-protrusion contour to the intermediate layer, by use of a transmissive stamper; removing the transmissive stamper away from the intermediate layer; and recycling the transmissive stamper as the substrate of another optical recording medium.
The substrate formed through recycling the transmissive stamper is preferably comprised of a plurality of the transmissive stampers that are attached on top of each other.
The transmissive stamper is preferably comprised of any one of a polycarbonate resin, a polyolefin resin, and an acrylate resin.
The transmissive stamper preferably has respective depression-protrusion contours on both sides thereof.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical recording medium comprising: a substrate formed of the recycled transmissive stamper; a recording layer laid above the substrate; and a protection layer laid above the recording layer.
The substrate preferably has respective depression-protrusion contours on both sides thereof, one side of the substrate is comprised of a side utilized for transferring a depression-protrusion contour to the intermediate layer.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a manufacturing method for an optical recording medium, comprising the steps of: transferring a depression-protrusion contour of a transmissive stamper to a protection layer laid on a supporting base; depositing a first recording layer on the protection layer, after removing the transmissive stamper away from the protection layer; depositing a second recording layer on a side opposite to the transferred side of the transmissive stamper; forming an intermediate layer on the second recording layer and attaching the first recording layer to the intermediate layer; and removing the supporting base away from the protection layer, after radiating ultraviolet rays onto the intermediate layer. The ultraviolet rays is preferably incident from the transmissive-stamper side.
Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be explained below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
First Embodiment An arbitrary material may be utilized for a transmissive stamping-capable substrate that serves also as a transmissive stamper (hereinafter, simply referred to as a “substrate”), as long as it transmits light having a wavelength required for curing an intermediate layer and poses no problem in curing the intermediate layer; preferred examples is comprised of a polycarbonate resin, a polyolefin resin, and an acrylate resin. In a base substrate 110 utilized in the present invention, as illustrated in
The first recording layer 210 is formed on the base substrate 110 (in
While the substrate 110 is rotating, an ultraviolet curing resin is dispensed, or spin coated, through a nozzle 700 on the first recording layer 210 to form a layer 310, which becomes an intermediate layer (in
A bottom face 122 of a transmissive stamping-capable substrate (hereinafter, simply referred to as a “stamper”) 120 that has a top face 121 and the bottom face 122 that are similar to those of the substrate 110 is closely contacted to the surface of the layer 310, thereby transferring the tracking grooves for a second recording layer 220 to the surface of the layer 310, and then ultraviolet rays (described “UV” from time to time) 900 are radiated onto the layer 310 so as to cure the layer 310, thereby forming an intermediate layer 310 (in
Next, as is the case with the first recording layer 210, the second recording layer 220 is formed on the intermediate layer 310 (in
A protection layer 400 is formed on the second recording layer 220 (in
The stamper 120 removed as illustrated in
As described above, in the manufacturing method according to first embodiment, by, without adding any process to a conventional method, utilizing, instead of a conventional transmissive stamper, a transmissive stamping-capable substrate, the substrate can be recycled, whereby cost reduction can be realized.
First embodiment has been exemplified by a rewritable type optical recording medium; however, it goes without saying that even a write-once type optical recording medium having an organic-system recording layer can demonstrate the similar effect. In addition, it goes without saying that the manufacturing method according to the present invention can be applied to a reproduction-only type optical recording medium that, instead of an information guide track, has a reflection layer provided on an information-pit string.
Second EmbodimentThe difference between an optical recording medium according to second embodiment and an optical recording medium produced in accordance with the manufacturing method according to first embodiment is the number of recording layers and the configuration of a substrate.
In the first place, taking into account the thickness of a stamper to be attached in a process described later, the base substrate 110 is prepared that is thinner than the substrate of an optical recording medium (hereinafter, referred to as a “completion substrate”) to be completed, and then the first recording layer 210, the first intermediate layer 310, and the second recording layer 220 are formed, in accordance with the same processes as those illustrated in
Next, a second intermediate layer 320, a third recording layer 230, a third intermediate layer 330, and a fourth recording layer 240 are formed in accordance with the same processes as those illustrated in
After the fourth recording layer 240 is formed, a protection layer 400 is formed in accordance with the same process as that illustrated in
The stampers 130 and 140 utilized for forming the tracking grooves 321 and 331, respectively, are adhered to the bottom face of the substrate 110, e.g., in the order as illustrated in
Accordingly, in second embodiment in which three transmissive stamping-capable substrates 110, 130, and 140 are attached on top of the other, it is preferable to make the respective thicknesses of the stamping-capable substrates 110, 130, and 140 approximately one thirds of the thickness of the completion substrate. It goes without saying that, without utilizing as the base substrate of another optical recording medium any one of the stampers that have been utilized for forming the tracking grooves of the optical recording medium, all the stampers may be attached on top of the other. In other words, the thickness of each transmissive stamping-capable substrate may occupy a part, of the thickness of a completion substrate including that transmissive stamping-capable substrate, that corresponds to the share of that stamper.
In addition, the depressions and protrusions for forming the tracking grooves are not required for attaching the transmissive stamping-capable substrates on top of the other. In other words, the depressions and protrusions are not required for the side, of each stamper according to second embodiment, that is not utilized for the formation of the tracking grooves; therefore, a stamper, only on one side of which depressions and protrusions for forming the tracking grooves are formed, can also be applied to the manufacturing method according to the present invention.
Third EmbodimentAn optical recording medium according to third embodiment is comprised of four recording layers 210, 220, 230, and 240 and a transmissive stamping-capable substrate 110 that is not attached.
The ultraviolet-ray transmittance of the transmissive stamping-capable substrate 110 is lowered each time the transmissive stamping-capable substrate is utilized as a stamper; however, by prolonging the ultraviolet-ray radiation time by approximately 10%, desired curing can be performed.
In a manufacturing method according to third embodiment, in the first place, the base substrate 110 is prepared, and then the first recording layer 210, the first intermediate layer 310, and the second recording layer 220 are formed as is the case with first embodiment (in
Next, the stampers 130 and 140, which have been utilized for manufacturing a previous optical recording medium and have respective depression-and-protrusion surfaces corresponding to the tracking grooves for the third and fourth recording layers of the current optical recording medium, are prepared; by use of the stampers 130 and 140, the second intermediate layer 320, the third recording layer 230, the third intermediate layer 330, and the fourth recording layer 240 are formed in accordance with the same processes as those illustrated in
As described above, by, as a stamper and a substrate, recycling a transmissive stamping-capable substrate that has been utilized for a process in which tracking grooves are formed in an intermediate layer, production costs for an optical recording medium and waste disposal can be reduced.
Fourth EmbodimentThe difference between an optical recording medium produced in accordance with a manufacturing method according to first embodiment and an optical recording medium produced in accordance with a manufacturing method according to fourth embodiment is the formation order of layers that configure the respective optical recording media. In first embodiment, the first recording layer, the intermediate layer, the second recording layer, and the protection layer are formed and laminated in that order; in contrast, in fourth embodiment, firstly, a protection layer is formed, secondly, a first recording layer and a second recording layer are separately formed and laminated, thirdly, an intermediate layer is formed, and then all the layers are laminated. Fourth embodiment will be explained below, while taking as an example a case in which an optical recording medium having the same layer configuration and depression-protrusion pattern as those of an optical recording medium according to first embodiment is produced.
A supporting base 800, which holds and handles a thin protection layer, may be an arbitrary material, e.g., metal and glass, as long as the material has a certain degree of robustness; one face of the supporting base 800 is mirror polished in advance.
While the supporting base 800 is rotating, an ultraviolet curing resin that is a material for the protection layer 400 is dispensed through a nozzle 700 on the polished surface, and then it is quickly spun to obtain a uniform film thickness so that the film 400, which becomes the protection layer, is formed (in
While the bottom face 112 of the transmissive stamping-capable substrate 110 is closely contacted to the formed film 400, the ultraviolet rays 900 is radiated (in
In the process described heretofore, the protection layer 400 having the second recording layer 220 is formed on the surface of the supporting base.
A pattern of tracking grooves for the first recording layer has been formed on the top face 111 of the transmissive stamping-capable substrate 110 that is removed away after the irradiating process in
After the formed intermediate layer 310 is attached to the supporting base illustrated in
In the last place, the supporting base 800 is removed away, so that a two-layer optical recording medium is completed (in
Although being different from first embodiment in the process order, fourth embodiment also utilizes a transmissive stamping-capable substrate, whereby an optical recording medium, which wastes no material and is inexpensive, can be provided.
While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures
This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-326235, filed Nov. 10, 2005, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
Claims
1. A manufacturing method for an optical recording medium, comprising the steps of:
- depositing a recording layer on a substrate;
- forming an intermediate layer on the recording layer;
- transferring a depression-protrusion contour to the intermediate layer, by use of a transmissive stamper;
- removing the transmissive stamper away from the intermediate layer; and
- recycling the transmissive stamper as the substrate of another optical recording medium.
2. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the substrate formed through recycling the transmissive stamper is comprised of a plurality of the transmissive stampers that are attached on top of each other.
3. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the transmissive stamper is comprised of any one of a polycarbonate resin, a polyolefin resin, and an acrylate resin.
4. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the transmissive stamper has respective depression-protrusion contours on both sides thereof.
5. An optical recording medium comprising:
- a substrate formed of the transmissive stamper recycled in claim 1;
- a recording layer laid above the substrate; and
- a protection layer laid above the recording layer.
6. The optical recording medium according to claim 5, wherein the substrate has respective depression-protrusion contours on both sides thereof, one side of the substrate is comprised of a side utilized for transferring a depression-protrusion contour to the intermediate layer.
7. A manufacturing method for an optical recording medium, comprising the steps of:
- transferring a depression-protrusion contour of a transmissive stamper to a protection layer laid on a supporting base;
- depositing a first recording layer on the protection layer, after removing the transmissive stamper away from the protection layer;
- depositing a second recording layer on a side opposite to the transferred side of the transmissive stamper;
- forming an intermediate layer on the second recording layer and attaching the first recording layer to the intermediate layer; and
- removing the supporting base away from the protection layer, after radiating ultraviolet rays onto the intermediate layer.
8. The manufacturing method according to claim 7, wherein the ultraviolet rays is incident from the transmissive-stamper side.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 25, 2006
Publication Date: May 10, 2007
Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA (TOKYO)
Inventor: Tomoyuki HIROKI (Zama-shi)
Application Number: 11/552,737
International Classification: G11B 7/24 (20060101);