Abstract: A high density optical disc that can be driven changeably with the existent optical disc by the same driving apparatus. On the recording surface of the optical disc, a light transmissive layer with a thickness of about 0.2 to 0.4 mm is formed. The recording face is accessed by allowing a light beam with a wavelength of 395 to 425 nm in a spot shape to be irradiated onto it. Also, the light beam is converged in a spot shape by an objective lens having the numerical aperture of about 0.62 to 0.68.

Abstract: A compact optical pickup head which doesn't utilize a holographic optical element is disclosed. A birefringent prism and a quarter-wave plate are disposed in the optical path of the compact pickup head. The birefringent prism is consisted of two crystals made from a birefringent material, and having their optical axes perpendicular to each other. Therefore, the laser source beam will not be refracted when passing through the birefringent prism or will be refracted to a direction differing from the returning beam), while the returning beam is refracted by the birefringent prism to the photo detector. The power of laser ray is fully utilized to increase the reliability of signal transformation. A higher optical signal can be obtained, and the interference of returning beam to the source beam is also be prevented.

Abstract: A cross erase suppression apparatus for suppressing a cross erase phenomenon of a writable optical disc. The cross erase suppression apparatus comprises a shading element, or cross erase suppression element, arranged to shade the central portion of a beam of light to be incident on an object lens, more particularly into an aperture of the lens. The element is arranged to form a larger shading area in the direction of linear velocity of the optical disc than in a track direction of the disc such that the spot diameter becomes smaller in the track direction. The shading of the central portion of the aperture allows the spot to have a very high resolution, and be thus smaller than when a conventional flat beam of light is incident into the aperture.

Abstract: The present invention provides an optical pickup, of which the aberration correcting unit is not expensive, but is easily controllable, in addition to effectively correcting an aberration caused by a radial shift of the object lens of the optical pickup. The optical pickup has a light emitting unit (3), an object lens (7), and a correction unit (6) used for correcting an aberration caused by a tilt of the optical axis of the light beam relative to the recording surface (1a) of the optical disc (1). The correction unit (6) has a light transmitting surface, with a first electrode arranged on at least one area of the light transmitting surface of the correction unit at a position maximizing an aberration, caused by a radial tilt of the optical axis of the beam of light relative to the recording surface of the optical disc in a radial direction of the disc.

Abstract: An optical pick-up composed of an objective lens and a liquid crystal element, for recording and reproduction of optical discs having different recording densities, the liquid crystal element having nine zones, including: zones 2, 4 located in center parts of half circles of a small diameter beam for a low density optical disc, zones 3, 5 laid along the outer peripheries of zones 2, 3 within the half circles so as to surround zones 2, 4, zones 6, 7 along the outer peripheries of zones 3, 5, between the outer periphery of the small diameter beam and a large diameter beam, extending along substantially half circumferential parts of the small diameter beam, zones 8, 9 extending along substantially half circumferential parts of the large diameter beam, a remainder first zone and including a diameter whose the direction is the same as a tilt direction to be corrected.

Abstract: An optical pickup and an optical information recording/reproducing device are provided, each of which is capable of forming a super-resolution spot to conduct micro-mark recording, and does not undergo signal degradation due to an increased sidelobe in a reproducing operation. A variable phase filter having three regions to produce a phase difference in a radial direction is used, to provide a phase difference of &pgr; between the center region and the side regions in a recording operation, so that a super-resolution spot is formed on a recording layer of the optical disk. In a reproducing operation, a phase difference is nullified between the regions of the variable phase filter, so that a normal light spot at a diffraction limit having a smaller sidelobe is formed. The variable phase filter can be formed with a homogeneous-alignment liquid crystal element.

Abstract: An information recording and reproduction apparatus for a magneto-optical medium includes a synchronizing signal generation circuit for generating a synchronizing signal to provide a pulsed laser beam at the time of reproduction according to an internal clock obtained from a reproduction signal. The laser beam is driven on/off according to the synchronizing signal at the time of reproduction to have the laser spot on the signal plane prevented from being enlarged, so that the reproducible domain is smaller than the domain of when a laser beam is continuously emitted. In reproduction, an optical superresolution method is applied simultaneous to provision of a pulsed laser beam to allow reproduction of higher density. An external synchronizing signal generation circuit for generating an external synchronizing signal according to a wobble on a surface of a recording medium can be used instead of a synchronizing signal generation circuit according to an internal clock.

Abstract: An information recording and reproduction apparatus for a magneto-optical medium includes a synchronizing signal generation circuit for generating a synchronizing signal to provide a pulsed laser beam at the time of reproduction according to an internal clock obtained from a reproduction signal. The laser beam is driven on/off according to the synchronizing signal at the time of reproduction to have the laser spot on the signal plane prevented from being enlarged, so that the reproducible domain is smaller than the domain of when a laser beam is continuously emitted. In reproduction, an optical superresolution method is applied simultaneous to provision of a pulsed laser beam to allow reproduction of higher density. An external synchronizing signal generation circuit for generating an external synchronizing signal according to a wobble on a surface of a recording medium can be used instead of a synchronizing signal generation circuit according to an internal clock.

Abstract: A liquid crystal driving signal generating apparatus comprises a PWM signal generator, a low pass filter for limiting a frequency band of a PWM signal outputted from the PWM signal generator, a liquid crystal panel connected to an output of the low pass filter, and a control means for controlling the PWM signal generator. The control means controls the PWM signal generator such that the PWM signal generator generates a PWM signal with a duty ratio corresponding to a refractive index to be set in the liquid crystal panel.

Abstract: An information recording and reproduction apparatus for a magneto-optical medium includes a synchronizing signal generation circuit for generating a synchronizing signal to provide a pulsed laser beam at the time of reproduction according to an internal clock obtained from a reproduction signal. The laser beam is driven on/off according to the synchronizing signal at the time of reproduction to have the laser spot on the signal plane prevented from being enlarged, so that the reproducible domain is smaller than the domain of when a laser beam is continuously emitted. In reproduction, an optical superresolution method is applied simultaneous to provision of a pulsed laser beam to allow reproduction of higher density. An external synchronizing signal generation circuit for generating an external synchronizing signal according to a wobble on a surface of a recording medium can be used instead of a synchronizing signal generation circuit according to an internal clock.

Abstract: An apparatus and a method are provided for compensating an aberration occurring in a reflected light beam from a recording medium. The apparatus includes a liquid crystal unit including a first electrode layer having divisional electrodes and a second electrode layer, and a liquid crystal element which provides a light beam with a phase change when an electric field is applied; a detector for receiving the reflected light beam through the liquid crystal unit to generate a detection signal; a voltage generator for generating voltages to be applied to the divisional electrodes; and a controller for performing aberration compensation control by changing the applied voltages to each of the divisional electrodes with reference to an applied reference voltage to a predetermined divisional electrode. The controller determines the applied reference voltage based on an amplitude change of the detection signal when the applied voltages to the divisional electrodes are changed.

Abstract: An optical information reproduction apparatus is provided that, even when spherical aberration has occurred because of a thickness error in a transmissive substrate of an optical disk, is capable of improving the information reading accuracy by correcting the spherical aberration. The spherical aberration of an optical system is corrected while changing the amount of correction in a state where an objective lens is retained at a position on a focus adjusting orbit where the amplitude level of a reading signal read from an optical recording medium reaches a maximum. The spherical aberration is then corrected by using the amount of correction, which is defined as the final amount of spherical aberration correction, where the amplitude level of a tracking error signal obtained during this time reaches the maximum.

Abstract: An optical data storage system 100 utilizes optical fibers 102 for transfer of information to and from storage media 107. The storage media 107 comprises magneto-optical storage disks. The optical fibers 102 are low-birefringence optical fibers. As compared to the prior art, a polarization state conveyed by the optical fiber 102 is accurately reproduced with reduced noise.

Abstract: An optical disk device has

Abstract: A variable optical unit is provided with at least two phase-shift regions for providing light with phase differences. Phase-shift amount of the phase-shift region is adjusted by the applied voltage in accordance with birefringence of an information medium. A light beam emitted from a light source is incident on the variable optical unit through a collimator lens and a beam splitter. The light beam is polarized in accordance with the aforementioned phase-shift amount of the variable optical unit and converged by an objective lens to radiate the information medium. The reflected light polarized due to the effect of the birefringence of the information medium is polarized again according to the phase-shift amount of the variable optical unit. The reflected light is thereby polarized in the direction in which the beam splitter can reflect the reflected light and then the reflected light reflected by the beam splitter is detected by the condenser lens and an optical detector.

Abstract: An optical information recording and reproducing apparatus is provided that is capable of preventing recorded data from being deleted by mistake under a recording operation mode, and, under a reproduction operation mode, is capable of highly accurately reproducing and reading information data in which crosstalk has been removed. Under the reproduction operation mode, a single laser beam is divided into a plurality of divided laser beams, and they are individually irradiated onto a recording medium. On the other hand, under the recording operation mode, the quantity of light of each divided laser beam other than one beam of all the divided beams is reduced lower than that of the one beam, and they are all irradiated onto the recording medium.

Abstract: An information recording and reproduction apparatus for a magneto-optical medium includes a synchronizing signal generation circuit for generating a synchronizing signal to provide a pulsed laser beam at the time of reproduction according to an internal clock obtained from a reproduction signal. The laser beam is driven on/off according to the synchronizing signal at the time of reproduction to have the laser spot on the signal plane prevented from being enlarged, so that the reproducible domain is smaller than the domain of when a laser beam is continuously emitted. In reproduction, an optical superresolution method is applied simultaneous to provision of a pulsed laser beam to allow reproduction of higher density. An external synchronizing signal generation circuit for generating an external synchronizing signal according to a wobble on a surface of a recording medium can be used instead of a synchronizing signal generation circuit according to an internal clock.

Abstract: A recording/reproducing apparatus includes an optical pickup device having an optical phase plate which is compatible with optical recording mediums having different thicknesses, and an optical signal processing device processes information read from the optical recording mediums and processes information to be recorded thereon using the optical pickup device.

Abstract: An information recording and reproduction apparatus for a magneto-optical medium includes a synchronizing signal generation circuit for generating a synchronizing signal to provide a pulsed laser beam at the time of reproduction according to an internal clock obtained from a reproduction signal. The laser beam is driven on/off according to the synchronizing signal at the time of reproduction to have the laser spot on the signal plane prevented from being enlarged, so that the reproducible domain is smaller than the domain of when a laser beam is continuously emitted. In reproduction, an optical superresolution method is applied simultaneous to provision of a pulsed laser beam to allow reproduction of higher density. An external synchronizing signal generation circuit for generating an external synchronizing signal according to a wobble on a surface of a recording medium can be used instead of a synchronizing signal generation circuit according to an internal clock.

Abstract: An aberration correcting apparatus is provided with: a light detection device for irradiating an information record medium, on which record information is recorded, with a light beam, and outputting a light detection signal corresponding to the record information on the basis of a reflection light of the light beam reflected from the information record medium; a tilt detection device for detecting a tilt between an information record surface of the information record medium and an optical axis of the light beam on the basis of the light detection signal; a correction device for correcting a wavefront aberration generated in the light beam due to the tilt; and a driving device for driving the correction device on the basis of the detected tilt.

Abstract: A light exposure device for a master optical disc capable of exposing to light a desired area of the master optical disc to high precision for forming crests and recesses of broad widths therein to high precision. Specifically, the light exposure device for the master optical disc exposes to light the portions of a photoresist coated on a substrate of the optical disc adapted to form a pre-set pattern corresponding to recorded information signals. The light exposure device for the master optical disc includes a light-condensing optical element 15 for condensing the laser light radiated from a light source, a deflecting optical element 16 for wobbling the laser light condensed by the light-condensing optical element 15 and an optical system 17 arranged downstream of the focal point position of the light-condensing optical element 15 for re-imaging the laser light wobbled by the deflecting optical element 16 at a location upstream of the objective lens.