Patent ID: 8045428

Claim:
An optical pickup apparatus comprising: an objective lens configured to focus laser light emitted from a laser diode to a signal recording layer of an optical disc; a photodetector including a substantially square light receiving region made of first to fourth sensors divided by a boundary in a first direction corresponding to a tracking direction and by a boundary in a second direction crossing the first direction, the light receiving region configured to be irradiated with reflected light of the laser light which is reflected from the signal recording layer of the optical disc; and a half mirror configured to reflect the laser light in a direction of the objective lens and to allow the reflected light to pass through in a direction of the photodetector, wherein the boundary in the second direction by which the first to fourth sensors in the light receiving region are divided set according to a shape of a spot of the reflected light directly applied from the half mirror to the light receiving region when a spot of the laser light is positioned on a track of the signal recording layer of the optical disc, the shape resulting from coma aberration caused by the half mirror, and wherein the first and second sensors, and the third and fourth sensors are divided by the boundary in the first direction, the first and fourth sensors, and the second and third sensors are divided by the boundary in the second direction, and light receiving areas of the first and fourth sensors are larger than the light receiving areas of the second and third sensors, respectively.