Patent ID: 7835255

Claim:
An identification information recording apparatus for recording identification information on an optical disk comprising: a turntable on which an optical disk is placed and that rotates the optical disk; an optical pickup having a laser source that emits a laser beam that forms an optical spot on the optical disk placed on the turntable for melting a reflection layer formed on the optical disk, said optical spot elongated along a radial direction of the optical disk; a relative position changing member that changes a relative position between the optical pickup and the optical disk in the radial direction of the optical disk placed on the turntable; an identification information recording member that records the identification information on the optical disk by controlling the emission of the laser beam from the laser source and the relative position between the optical pickup and the optical disk, the identification information recording member controlling the emission of the laser beam from the laser source to have an end portion of the elongated optical spot in the radial direction overlap a section of the identification information already formed; and a light intensity distribution setting member that sets a light intensity distribution of the elongated optical spot, wherein said light intensity distribution member comprises an optical axis tilting member that tilts the optical axis of the laser beam emitted from the laser source at an angle between and including 1.0° and 2.0° in the radial direction of the optical disk, and sets the light intensity distribution of the elongated optical spot so that a light intensity of the optical spot at a front side in a moving direction of the optical spot is lower than a light intensity of the optical spot at a rear side in the moving direction of the optical spot, said moving direction being a direction in which the optical spot moves by changing the relative position between the optical pickup and the optical disk in the radial direction of the optical disk by the relative position changing member.