Patent ID: 6937544
Filing Date: 2005-08-30
Classification: G11B

Abstract:
1. An optical disk unit that emits light beams from an optical transmission layer, thereby recording information or reproducing information into or from an optical disk having a plurality of recording layers divided in a thickness direction and a light transmission layer protecting a recording layer positioned at an outermost side, said optical disk unit comprising: a light source that emits a light beam used for recording information into an optical disk targeted for recording and reproducing information or for reproducing information from the optical disk; an objective lens that transmits the light beam from said light source through the light transmission layer of the optical disk, thereby focusing light on the information recording layer of the optical disk; a spherical aberration correction mechanism provided between said light source and said objective lens, the mechanism controlling a degree of a spherical aberration caused by the thickness error of the light transmission layer of the optical disk; a spherical aberration correction mechanism control unit that controls an operation of said spherical aberration correction mechanism; a light emission intensity control unit that controls intensity of the light beam emitted from said light source based on information of the light transmission layer recorded in the optical disk; a gain adjustment that provides the predetermined gain is set according to the distance between the recording layer emitted for recording/reproduction and the light transmission layer into a control value inputted by said light emission intensity control unit: an objective lens position moving device to move said objective lens in an optical axis direction; a focus error signal generating section to generate a focus error signal according to a position at which there is formed a focusing spot on which a light beam is converged by predetermined focusing properties given by said objective lens and individual recording layers each; a judgment section to judge whether or not the focus error signal is due to any information recording face of an optical disk or due to a surface of a light transmission layer; and a light transmission layer-recording layer distance detector device to detect a distance between said arbitrary information recording face and a surface of a light transmission layer of an optical disk while moving said objective lens in an optical axis direction.