Patent ID: 7978568
Filing Date: 2011-07-12
Classification: G11B

Abstract:
1. An optical head comprising: a light source configured to emit a laser beam; an objective lens configured to focus the laser beam emitted from the light source onto one of an information recording surface of a first information recording medium and an information recording surface of a second information recording medium; a diffraction device disposed between the light source and the objective lens, and configured to diffract the laser beam emitted from the light source so as to generate diffraction lights of at least n-order and m-order (n and m as integers); a condensing lens configured to condense the laser beam reflected on the one of the information recording surface of the first information recording medium and the information recording surface of the second information recording medium; and a light receiving unit configured to receive the laser beam condensed by the condensing lens so as to generate a focus error signal, and having an optical axis direction, wherein the objective lens is configured to focus the n-order diffraction light generated by the diffraction device onto the information recording surface of the first information recording medium and focus the m-order diffraction light onto the information recording surface of the second information recording medium, the optical path of the laser beam before being reflected on the one of the surfaces of the first and second information recording mediums is an advancing path, the optical path of the laser beam after being reflected on the one of the surfaces of the first and second information recording mediums is a returning path, a position of the optical axis direction in the light receiving unit, in which a diffraction light with the n-order diffraction light in the advancing path and the n-order diffraction light in the returning path, reflected on the information recording surface of the first information recording medium, is condensed by the condensing lens and then the condensed diffraction light forms a focal spot in the light receiving unit is different from a position of the optical axis direction in the light receiving unit, in which a diffraction light that is different from the n-order diffraction light in at least one of the advancing path and the returning path, reflected on the surface of the first information recording medium, and a focal position focused by the objective lens different from the surface of the first information recording medium is condensed by the condensing lens and then the condensed diffraction light forms a focal spot in the light receiving unit, wherein the n and the m are different integers, and the objective lens focuses the laser beams having the same wavelength emitted from the light source onto the information recording surface of the first information recording medium and the information recording surface of the second information recording medium, wherein a position in the light receiving unit in which a diffraction light with a zero-order diffraction light in the advancing path and a zero-order diffraction light in the returning path, reflected on the information recording surface of the first information recording medium, is focused by the condensing lens is different from a position in the light receiving unit in which the zero-order diffraction light in one of the advancing path and the returning path and a minus-first-order diffraction light in the other path, reflected on the surface of the first information recording medium, is focused by the condensing lens, and wherein a protective material thickness of the information recording surface of the first information recording medium is t then are satisfied.