Patent ID: 6937550

Claim:
An information recording medium comprising: a plurality of disk-like information recording layers which are adhered to each other within an allowable decentering error range, each of said information recording layers comprising: an embossed lead-in area which is located at a predetermined radial position; and a data area which neighbors said embossed lead-in area and is located on an outer periphery side of said embossed lead-in area, and on which user data is recorded by phase change recording marks, said embossed lead-in area comprising: first guard tracks which are formed within a range of a first radial distance from a radial position of an innermost periphery of said embossed lead-in area toward the outer periphery side; second guard tracks which are formed within a range of a second radial distance from a radial position of an outermost periphery of said embossed lead-in area toward the inner periphery side; and data recording tracks which are formed between said first and second guard tracks and on which lead-in data is recorded by embossed pits, wherein if x represents the allowable decentering error, t represents a distance between said information recording layers, and n·sin θ (n: a refractive index of an intermediate layer formed between said information recording layers) represents a numerical aperture of an objective lens used in recording/reproduction for said information recording layers, each of the first and second radial distances is (x+t·tan θ), and a defect caused by the allowable decentering error is covered by said first and second guard tracks.