Patent ID: 6980504

Claim:
An optical pickup device comprising: a first light source for emitting a first light beam having a first wavelength; a second light source for emitting a second light beam having a second wavelength different from the first wavelength; an objective lens for focusing said first light beam or said second light beam to the signal recording surface of an optical recording medium of a first type matching to the first wavelength or that of an optical recording medium of a second type matching to the second wavelength, whichever appropriate; a photodetector for detecting the light beam focused on the signal recording surface of the optical recording medium of the first type or that of the optical recording medium of the second type, whichever appropriate, by the objective lens and reflected by the signal recording surface; a diffraction element arranged in the light path from the light sources to the photodetector by way of one of the first or second type of optical recording medium, the diffraction element having a first diffraction angle and a second diffraction angle, wherein a difference between the first diffraction angle and the second diffraction angle is predetermined to offset a distance separating the first light source and the second light source; and at least one of the first light beam adapted to be used for reading information signals from the signal recording surface of the optical recording medium of the first type and reflected by the reflecting surface, and the second light beam adapted to be used for reading information signals from the signal recording surface of the optical recording medium of the second type and reflected by the reflecting surface being diffracted by the diffraction element, wherein the first diffraction angle diffracts the first reflected light beam and the second diffraction angle diffracts the second reflected light beam so that the first reflected light beam and the second reflected light beam being focused to a same spot on the light receiving surface of the photodetector, wherein the diffraction element includes a pair of opposite surfaces and a diffraction grating is disposed on a lower surface of the pair of opposite surfaces, and wherein a pattern depth of the diffraction grating is between a first depth that maximizes the primary diffraction efficiency of the first reflected light beam and a second depth that maximizes the primary diffraction efficiency of the second reflected light beam.