Patent ID: 7898748

Claim:
An optical recording/reproducing apparatus, which records/reproduces information on/from a recording medium having a single recording layer and a recording medium having recording layers the number of which is represented by N (N≧2) by converging light rays from a light source thereon, comprising: an objective lens for converging light rays from the light source onto the recording medium; and a spherical-aberration correcting mechanism for correcting spherical aberration of converged light spots formed on the recording layers of both the recording medium having the single recording layer and the recording medium having the recording layers the number of which is represented by N (N≧2), wherein the objective lens is set so that a converged light spot, derived from light rays transmitted through a light-transmitting body having an optical thickness of p 4 and converged, has a small spherical aberration, the recording medium having the recording layers the number of which is represented by N (N≧2) includes a first recording layer, an N-th recording layer in succession from the objective lens side, an optical thickness at a mid-point between the first recording layer and the N-th recording layer is represented by p 3 , p 4 and p 3 are coincident with each other, a converged light spot formed at the mid-point between the first recording layer and the N-th recording layer by the objective lens has a minimum spherical aberration when light rays emitted from the spherical-aberration correcting mechanism have a minimum spherical aberration, an optical thickness of the recording medium having the single recording layer is represented by p 5 , and p 3 and p 5 are coincident with each other.