Patent ID: 7242657

Claim:
A recording method for forming recording marks according to a mark length modulation by irradiating a pulse-shaped light beam with respect to a crystallized phase change recording layer of a phase change type optical recording medium which comprises at least the phase change recording layer and a reflection layer on a substrate, said recording method comprising: irradiating a light beam formed by a single recording pulse when forming a recording mark having a size less than or equal to a predetermined size N, said predetermined size N being set with reference to a reference size which is sum of a beam spot diameter of the light beam and a distance traveled by the light beam within a time amounting to a sum of rising and falling time constants of a light beam power, wherein the predetermined size N is set to 0.55 times ±10% of the reference size; and irradiating a light beam formed by a plurality of recording pulses when forming a recording mark having a size greater than the predetermined size N.