Patent ID: 7848189

Claim:
An optical disk apparatus for recording information to an information recording medium that comprises a plurality of recording regions and gap sections not used for recording information before said recording regions along a recording track, said optical disk apparatus comprising: a laser; a laser drive device for outputting a test power such that an emitted light power becomes larger than a first prescribed value in a gap section where laser emission light passes before a specific recording region for recording data, among said gap sections existing between said recording regions on said information recording medium; an optical pickup including an objective lens for condensing light beams emitted from said laser on said information recording medium as a beam spot for detecting light reflected from said information recording medium; a focus error detector for detecting position shift between a recording face of said information recording medium and said beam spot as a focus error signal from output of said pickup; a focus control device for controlling said position shift between said beam spot and said recording face of said information recording medium based on output of said focus error detector; and a focus drive device for driving said objective lens in far and close directions to said information recording medium based on output of said focus control device, wherein in said gap section where said laser drive device outputs said test power, or in said gap section where said test power is outputted and a prescribed section right thereafter, said focus drive device keeps a focus drive output level right before said laser drive device outputs said test power and sets a recording power so that said emitted light power in said gap section becomes a second prescribed value.