Patent ID: 8000209

Claim:
An optical pickup for use with a light source which emits a divergent beam having an elliptical far-field pattern, the optical pickup comprising: a beam shaping element having at least one cylindrical plane and which shapes the divergent beam outputted from the light source into an divergent beam having a prescribed shape in which at least the length in the major axis direction of the elliptical shape is shortened; a light collecting portion which collects the divergent beam having the prescribed shape, which is shaped by the beam shaping element onto a recording surface of an optical information recording medium so that the optical axis of the divergent beam is perpendicular to the recording surface; a light detecting portion which detects a beam reflected on the optical information recording medium; a mounting plate on which the beam shaping element is to be mounted; an optical axis adjustment holder provided at a position fixed with respect to the light collecting portion and to which the light source is attached; and a light source tilting holder connected to the optical axis adjustment holder so as to be rotationally movable and to which the mounting plate is fixed, wherein a position of the optical axis of the elliptical divergent beam emitted from the light source with respect to the light collecting portion is adjusted by a rotational movement of the light source tilting holder, and the light source tilting holder is adjusted to a position at which an angle formed by the generating line of the cylindrical plane of the beam shaping element and the recording surface of the optical information recording medium becomes equal to the sum of an angle of an emission angle gradient of the elliptical shape of the divergent beam outputted from the light source in the minor axis direction and a right angle.