Patent ID: 8264938

Claim:
An optical pickup device, comprising: a laser light source; an objective lens which focuses laser light emitted from the laser light source on a recording medium; an astigmatism element which converges the laser light in a first direction to generate a first focal line, and which converges the laser light in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction to generate a second focal line; a spectral element which makes propagating directions of light fluxes, in four different light flux areas, of the laser light reflected on the recording medium, different from each other to disperse the light fluxes in the four light flux areas from each other; and a photodetector which receives the dispersed light fluxes to output a detection signal, wherein the spectral element sets the four light flux areas in such a manner that, assuming that an intersection of first and second straight lines respectively in parallel to the first direction and the second direction and perpendicularly intersecting with each other is aligned with an optical axis of the laser light, two of the light flux areas are disposed in a direction along which a pair of vertically opposite angles defined by the first and second straight lines are aligned, and that the other two of the light flux areas are disposed in a direction along which the other pair of vertically opposite angles defined by the first and second straight lines are aligned, the spectral element further sets propagating directions of divided elements of each of the light fluxes so as to disperse the divided elements on the photodetector, the divided elements being obtained by dividing each of the light fluxes into two parts by a third straight line intersecting with the first and second straight lines at an angle of 45 degrees, or by a fourth straight line orthogonal to the third straight line, and the photodetector is provided with sensors which individually receive the divided elements of each of the light fluxes.