Patent ID: 7502295

Claim:
An information recording method for recording information, comprising: modulating a laser beam according to a pulse train pattern including at least a recording-power level, a base power level, and a medium power level having a power intermediate between the recording-power and base power levels; and irradiating a write-once optical recording medium having a base and a record layer on the base with the laser beam modulated according to the pulse train pattern to form a record mark in the record layer, wherein the pulse train pattern includes at least one ON-pulse pattern and at least one OFF-pulse pattern, the ON-pulse pattern transitions from one of the base power level and the medium power level to the recording-power level, and then transitions from the recording-power level to the base power level, the OFF-pulse pattern includes the base power level following the ON-pulse pattern, and when the record mark longer than a specified length is formed, the number of the at least one ON-pulse pattern to be used is two, and a length of the OFF-pulse pattern following the last ON-pulse pattern is made constant regardless of a length of the record mark to be formed and a length of the OFF-pulse pattern located between the two ON-pulse patterns is made longer as the length of the record mark to be formed is longer, wherein t total *0.45 ≦t top ≦t total *0.65, where a length of first applied one of the two ON-pulse patterns used in forming the record mark longer than the specified length is t top , and a sum of the lengths of the two ON-pulse patterns used in forming the record mark longer than the specified length is t total .