Patent ID: 8094541

Claim:
An optical pickup which emits light to a first and a second optical discs and which senses light reflected by the first and the second optical discs, the optical pickup comprising: a laser light source for emitting an optical beam; a first polarization rotation element capable of rotating and controlling a polarization direction of an optical beam emitted from the laser light source; an optical branching element disposed in a position after the first polarization rotation element when viewed from the laser light source, an incident optical beam being reflected or transmitted by the optical branching element according to a polarization state of the optical beam; a first object lens for focusing an optical beam reflected by the optical branching element onto the first optical disc; a second object lens for focusing an optical beam transmitted by the optical branching element onto the second optical disc; and a photodetector for sensing reflected light supplied from the first and the second optical discs, wherein a second polarization rotation element capable of rotating and controlling a polarization direction of the reflected light, is disposed in a position after reflection or transmission of the reflected light supplied from the first and second optical discs conducted by the optical branching element, said position being separated from an outgoing path, and wherein the polarization direction of one of a first optical beam returned from the first object lens and a second optical beam returned from the second object lens becomes substantially the same direction as the polarization direction of the other of said first and second optical beams after said one optical beam has been transmitted through the second polarization rotation element, wherein the first and second polarization rotation elements are constituted as one body.