Patent ID: 7298686

Claim:
An optical pickup installed in an optical disk reproducing device for reproducing information from an optical disk by projecting a laser beam on the optical disk, said optical disk reproducing device comprising: laser source power control means for controlling power of a laser source to switch operation modes between a low-power operation mode in which a single-layer disk is reproduced or a disk is reproduced at a normal speed and a high-power operation mode in which a bi-layer disk is reproduced or a disk is reproduced at a double speed; and attenuating means for attenuating, only in the low-power operation mode, a laser beam emitted by a laser source onto the optical disk, wherein the attenuating means includes a polarization beam splitter disposed in an optical path between the laser source and the optical disk, and a polarization rotating element disposed between the laser source and the polarization beam splitter, and a transmittance of a P polarized component of the laser beam passing through the polarization beam splitter in the low-power operation mode is 20% to 50% of that in the high-power operation mode.