Patent ID: 8576686

Claim:
An improvement to an optical recording apparatus comprising (i) a light source, (ii) a first modulator for modulating an intensity of a light beam, (iii) a formatter, and (iv) a modulation interface, said improvement including: an electro-optic modulator added in an optical path between the light source and the first modulator, to regulate a power of the light beam supplied to the first modulator, wherein the formatter is adapted to supply a baseline power signal to the modulation interface and supply a formatted data signal of three or more modulation levels to the first modulator; wherein the modulation interface is adapted to supply a power control signal to the electro-optic modulator, and the electro-optic modulator regulates the power of the light beam supplied to the first modulator to a power level corresponding to the power control level, wherein the modulation levels include a first beam intensity corresponding to a first pit length, a second beam intensity corresponding to a second pit length, and a third beam intensity whereby a pit is not formed, wherein at least one of the first pit length and the second pit length corresponds to less than 3T, and wherein the apparatus is adapted by supplying the formatted data signal directly from the formatter to the first modulator, without going through the modulation interface.