JP2009110579A - Optical head, optical information recording/reproducing device, and optical information recording/reproducing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical head which is used for two kinds of optical disks different in use conditions of an optical system, has two objective lenses corresponding to respective optical disks and can detect a track error signal which does not cause offset by lens shift without complicating the device when recording or reproducing in either optical disk, and provide an optical information recording/reproducing device and optical information recording/reproducing method. <P>SOLUTION: Diffractive optical elements, which can switch whether to generate diffraction light of incident light or not, are set up in the outward path and return path of the optical system of the optical head and selects the diffractive optical element which generates the diffraction light according to the optical disk which performs recording or reproduction. Also in recording or reproducing by two kinds of optical disks, the same light receiving part of the photodetector and the same operational expression of the error signal are used. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical head for performing recording or reproduction on an optical recording medium, an optical information recording / reproducing apparatus, and an optical information recording / reproducing method.

  In response to a demand for increasing the capacity of optical discs, HD DVD (High Density Digital Versatile Disc) standards (Non-Patent Document 1) and BD (Blu-ray Disc) standards (Non-Patent Document 2) have been established.

  In order to support optical discs of the HD DVD standard and the BD standard, the optical information recording / reproducing apparatus is equipped with two optical heads for the HD DVD standard and the BD standard, or both the HD DVD standard and the BD standard. It is necessary to mount one optical head corresponding to the above. Since the method of mounting two optical heads increases the size and manufacturing cost of the apparatus, it is required that one optical head be compatible with the HD DVD standard and the BD standard.

  In order to support the HD DVD standard and the BD standard with one optical head, an objective lens compatible with both the HD DVD standard and the BD standard may be used, but such an objective lens has yet to be put into practical use. Not in. Therefore, it is necessary to design an optical head in which two objective lenses for HD DVD and BD are arranged close to each other. Here, there are a method of arranging two objective lenses for HD DVD and BD side by side in the radial direction of the optical disc and a method of arranging side by side in the tangential direction of the optical disc.

  The optical head moves in the radial direction of the optical disk and accesses an arbitrary address of the rotating optical disk to record and reproduce data. Therefore, when two objective lenses are arranged side by side in the radial direction of the optical disc, when the optical head moves to the innermost circumference of the optical disc, the objective lens arranged on the outer circumference side of the optical disc is located on the innermost circumference of the optical disc. There is a concern that the recording area that is located cannot be accessed.

  Therefore, it is preferable to arrange the two objective lenses in the tangential direction of the optical disc so that both objective lenses can access the recording area located at the innermost circumference of the optical disc. That is, one objective lens is arranged to move along a straight line passing through the center of the optical disc, and the other objective lens is moved along a straight line not passing through the center of the optical disc (decentered). ) Is preferably arranged.

  By the way, when tracking servo by the push-pull signal is performed, an offset occurs in the track error signal when the objective lens is offset (lens shift) in the radial direction of the optical disk. As a method for suppressing the offset of the track error signal caused by this lens shift, there is a differential push-pull method (DPP method) using three beams. However, when tracking servo by the DPP method using three beams is performed using the decentered objective lens, the amplitude of the push-pull signal obtained by receiving the reflected light of the sub beam changes depending on the radial position of the optical disk. For this reason, the accuracy of tracking servo by the DPP method may deteriorate, or tracking servo may not be applied.

  In relation to the above description, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-120306) includes an objective lens for CD and DVD and an objective lens for BD arranged in a decenter. An optical head and an optical information recording / reproducing apparatus corresponding to recording / reproducing are disclosed. The optical head described in Patent Document 1 includes three optical systems: a BD optical system, a CD and DVD optical system, and a common optical system. The common optical system includes optical path synthesis means for synthesizing light emitted from the optical system for BD and light emitted from the optical system for CD and DVD. In this way, by configuring the BD optical system and the CD and DVD optical systems independently, it is possible to employ a track error signal detection method that does not cause an offset due to different lens shifts between the BD, the CD, and the DVD. I can do it. However, in such an optical head, it is necessary to provide an optical system for BD and an optical system for CD and DVD, which complicates the optical system.

  Further, Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-316971) discloses an optical head and an optical information recording / reproducing apparatus compatible with recording and reproduction of a plurality of optical disks having different track pitches. The optical head described in Patent Document 2 records and reproduces DVDs having different track pitches using the same optical system. A plurality of diffractive optical elements that generate sub-beams are provided in the outward path of the optical system. By switching the diffractive optical elements to be used, the DPP method, which is a track error signal detection method that does not cause an offset due to lens shift, can be adopted for each DVD having a different track pitch. In such an optical head, when there are two or more objective lenses and one of them is decentered, a track error signal at the time of recording / reproduction using the decentered objective lens is used. As a detection method, the DPP method cannot be adopted.

  In addition to the DPP method, Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-265467) describes a track error signal detection method that suppresses offset due to lens shift by arranging a plurality of focused spots in an optical disk. There is such a phase shift DPP method. There is also a track error signal detection method in which there is only one condensing spot arranged in the optical disc, but the offset due to lens shift is suppressed by dividing the reflected light from the optical disc in the return path. As such a track error signal detection method, a compensation push-pull method (CPP method) described in Patent Document 4 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-108360) or Patent Document 5 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-099934). There is an advanced push-pull method (APP method) as described in the above.

  If the phase shift DPP method is used instead of the DPP method as the track error signal detection method, a good astigmatism signal cannot be obtained from the sub-beam, so the differential astigmatism method cannot be used as the focus error signal detection method. Cannot be used with land / groove recording optical discs.

  Further, the land / groove recording type optical disc of the HD DVD standard has a larger ratio of the focused beam diameter to the bit length and the track pitch than the optical disc of the BD standard, and PRML (Partial Response Maximum Likelihood) signal processing is used for reproduction. It is done. Therefore, a high S / N (Signal / Noise) is required for the reproduction signal. In the case of using the CPP method or the APP method as a track error signal detection method in which an offset due to lens shift does not occur by dividing the reflected light from the optical disk in the return path with respect to an optical disc of the HD DVD standard land groove recording method. Since the number of light receiving parts of the detector and the number of amplifiers that amplify the reproduction signal increase or the amount of light received by the photodetector decreases, a lot of amplifier noise is superimposed on the reproduction signal, the reproduction signal quality deteriorates, and reproduction I can't do it correctly.

JP 2006-120306 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-316971 JP 2004-265467 A JP 2005-108360 A JP 2006-099934 A White Paper Blu-ray Disc Format General, [online], August 2004, Blu-ray Disc Founders, [Search September 20, 2007], Internet <URL: http://www.blu-raydisc.com /assets/downloadablefile/general_bluraydiscformat-12834.pdf> DVD Forum White Paper-HD DVD Format Overview-Ver1.10, [online], June 30, 2007, DVD Forum, [searched September 20, 2007], Internet <URL: http://dvdforum.org /images/DVD-Forum-070605_ENG_rev110.pdf>

  An object of the present invention is to support a land / groove recording type optical disk without complicating the structure of an optical system even if it corresponds to optical disks of different standards, and to detect a track error signal that does not cause an offset due to lens shift. An optical head, an optical information recording / reproducing apparatus, and an optical information recording / reproducing method are provided.

  In an aspect of the present invention, the optical head includes a light source, a first objective lens, a second objective lens, a photodetector, a light separation unit, a first active diffraction unit, and a second active diffraction unit. . The first objective lens is provided between the light source and the optical disc, and condenses light emitted from the light source on the recording surface of the first optical disc having the first optical characteristic of the optical disc. The second objective lens is provided between the light source and the optical disc, and condenses light emitted from the light source on the recording surface of the second optical disc having the second optical characteristic of the optical disc. The photodetector receives the reflected light from the first optical disc or the reflected light from the second optical disc. The light separation unit separates light traveling from the light source toward the optical disc and light traveling from the optical disc toward the photodetector. The first active diffractive portion is provided between the light source and the light separating portion, and can switch the function of whether or not the light emitted from the light source is diffracted. The second active diffracting unit is provided between the light separating unit and the photodetector, and can switch the function of whether or not the reflected light reflected by the first optical disc or the second optical disc is diffracted. The photodetector includes a first light receiving unit group, a second light receiving unit group, and a third light receiving unit group. The first light receiving unit group receives light transmitted through the first active diffractive unit as 0th order light in the forward path and transmitted through the second active diffractive unit as 0th order light in the return path. The second light receiving unit group is diffracted as + 1st order diffracted light by the first active diffractive part in the forward path, and transmitted through the second active diffractive part as 0th order light in the return path, and the first active diffractive part is transmitted as 0th order light in the forward path. And selectively diffracted as + 1st order diffracted light by the second active diffraction section in the return path. The third light receiving unit group is diffracted as −1st order diffracted light by the first active diffractive part in the forward path, and transmitted through the second active diffractive part as 0th order light in the return path, and the 0th order of the first active diffractive part in the forward path. Light that is transmitted as light and selectively diffracted as −1st order diffracted light by the second active diffraction section in the return path is selectively received.

  In the optical head of the present invention, when the first objective lens and the second objective lens move in the radial direction of the optical disk, the locus of the condensed spot formed in the optical disk by the first objective lens indicates the first objective lens. The second objective lens is arranged so that the center of the optical disc is on the straight extension line, and the center of the optical disc is not on the straight extension line indicated by the locus of the focused spot formed in the optical disc by the second objective lens. You may arrange in.

  The first active diffractive portion of the optical head of the present invention may include a first polarizing diffractive optical element having different diffraction efficiency depending on the polarization direction of incident light.

  The second active diffractive portion of the optical head of the present invention may include a second polarizing diffractive optical element having a diffraction efficiency that varies depending on the polarization direction of incident light.

  The first active diffractive portion may further include a first active wave plate capable of changing a polarization direction of transmitted light between the light source and the first polarizing diffractive optical element.

The first active diffractive portion may further include a second active wavelength plate capable of changing a polarization direction of transmitted light between the first polarizing diffractive optical element and the light separating portion.

  The second active diffractive part may further include a third active wave plate capable of changing the polarization direction of the transmitted light between the light separating part and the second polarizing diffractive optical element.

  The optical head of the present invention may include an optical path switching unit that selectively guides light emitted from the light source to the first objective lens or the second objective lens.

  The optical path switching unit of the optical head of the present invention may include a movable mirror. The movable mirror is positioned so as to guide light emitted from the light source to the first objective lens when recording or reproducing the first optical disk, and guides the light emitted from the light source to the second objective lens when recording or reproducing the second optical disk. To position.

  A second optical path switching unit may be configured by the first active wave plate of the first active diffraction unit and the light separation unit. The second optical path switching unit serves to guide light emitted from the light source to the first objective lens during recording or reproduction of the first optical disc, and guides the light emitted from the light source to the second objective lens during recording or reproduction of the second optical disc. Work like so.

  In another aspect of the present invention, an optical information recording / reproducing apparatus includes the above-described optical head, a first circuit system, an optical head driving mechanism, and an error signal generation unit. The first circuit system switches the functions of the first and second active diffraction units. The optical head drive mechanism moves the optical head in the radial direction of the optical disc. The error signal generation unit generates a track error signal using the same arithmetic expression using signals output from the photodetector with respect to the first optical disc and the second optical disc.

  The first circuit system of the optical information recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention diffracts the light incident on the first active diffractive part and does not diffract the light incident on the second active diffractive part when recording or reproducing the first optical disk. As described above, the functions of the first and second active diffractive parts are switched, and at the time of recording or reproducing the second optical disc, the first circuit system diffracts the light incident on the second active diffractive part and enters the first active diffractive part. The functions of the first and second active diffraction units may be switched so that the light to be diffracted is not diffracted.

  The optical information recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention may further include a second circuit system for switching the function of the first optical path switching unit. The second circuit system switches the function of the first optical path switching unit so that the emitted light from the light source is guided to the first objective lens during recording or reproduction of the first optical disk, and the light source during recording or reproduction of the second optical disk. The operation of the first optical path switching unit is switched so that the emitted light from the first objective lens is guided to the second objective lens.

  In the optical information recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention, the first active diffractive portion includes a first polarizing diffractive optical element, and a first active wave plate provided between the light source and the first polarizing diffractive optical element. The second optical path switching unit may be configured by the first active wave plate of the first active diffraction unit and the light separation unit. The first circuit system switches the functions of the first and second active diffractive sections, and at the time of recording or reproducing the first optical disc, the second optical path switching section is configured so that the emitted light from the light source is guided to the first objective lens. When the second optical disk is recorded or reproduced, the second optical path switching unit is switched so that the emitted light from the light source is guided to the second objective lens.

  In another aspect of the present invention, an optical information recording / reproducing method includes an exit step, a first condensing step, a second condensing step, a light detecting step, a light separating step, and a first diffraction control. A step and a second diffraction control step. In the emission step, light emitted from the light source is emitted from the light source. In the first condensing step, the light emitted from the light source is condensed by the first objective lens on the recording surface of the first optical disc having the first optical characteristic of the optical disc. In the second condensing step, the light emitted from the light source is condensed by the second objective lens on the recording surface of the second optical disc having the second optical characteristic of the optical disc. In the light detection step, the reflected light from the first optical disc or the reflected light from the second optical disc is received. In the light separation step, light emitted from the light source and reflected light are separated. In the first diffraction control step, the first active diffraction unit switches whether to diffract the light emitted from the light source. In the second diffraction control step, the second active diffraction unit switches whether to diffract the reflected light. The light detecting step includes a first light receiving step, a second light receiving step, and a third light receiving step. In the first light receiving step, the light transmitted as the 0th order light in the first diffraction control step and further transmitted as the 0th order light in the second diffraction control step is received. In the second light receiving step, light diffracted as + 1st order diffracted light in the first diffraction control step, further transmitted as 0th order light in the second diffraction control step, transmitted as 0th order light in the first diffraction control step, and further In the second diffraction control step, light diffracted as + 1st order diffracted light is selectively received. In the third light receiving step, light diffracted as −1st order diffracted light in the first diffraction control step, further transmitted as 0th order light in the second diffraction control step, and transmitted as 0th order light in the first diffraction control step, In the second diffraction control step, the light diffracted as the −1st order diffracted light is selectively received.

  According to the optical information recording / reproducing method of the present invention, when the first objective lens and the second objective lens move in the radial direction of the optical disc, the optical objective recording / reproducing method is a straight line indicating the locus of the focused spot formed in the optical disc by the first objective lens. The step of arranging the first objective lens so that the center of the optical disk is on the extension line, and the center of the optical disk not to be on the straight extension line indicating the locus of the focused spot formed in the optical disk by the second objective lens A step of arranging the second objective lens.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an optical head, an optical information recording / reproducing apparatus, and an optical information recording / reproducing method that have a simple optical system configuration that can handle a plurality of types of optical discs having different optical system conditions.

  In addition, according to the present invention, there is provided an optical head, an optical information recording / reproducing apparatus, and an optical information recording / reproducing method in which any of a plurality of objective lenses can be moved to a position where an innermost recording area of an optical disk can be accessed. Can be provided.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an optical head, an optical information recording / reproducing apparatus, and an optical information recording / reproducing method capable of obtaining a track error signal that does not cause an offset due to lens shift.

  In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an optical head, an optical information recording / reproducing apparatus, and an optical information recording / reproducing method in which reproduction signal quality does not deteriorate during reproduction of any one of a plurality of optical discs.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an optical head, an optical information recording / reproducing apparatus, and an optical information recording / reproducing method that are compatible with a land / groove recording type optical disc.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. Here, an optical head corresponding to an optical disc of HD DVD standard and an optical disc of BD standard, an optical information recording / reproducing apparatus, and an optical information recording / reproducing method will be described.

  FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an optical head according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The optical head 80 is configured to be able to record and reproduce with respect to an optical disc 7 of HD DVD (High Density Digital Versatile Disc) standard and an optical disc 9 of BD (Blu-ray Disc) standard. The optical head 80 includes a semiconductor laser 1, a collimator lens 2, an active diffraction unit 12, a polarizing beam splitter 3, a quarter wavelength plate 4, an optical path switching unit 16, an HD DVD objective lens 6, a BD objective lens 8, and an active diffraction. A unit 13, an astigmatism lens 10, and a photodetector 11. In the optical head 80, the same semiconductor laser 1 is used for recording or reproduction of HD DVD and BD standard optical discs that are rotationally driven by the same rotational drive system. The active diffractive section 12 includes active wave plates 21a to 21b and a polarizing diffractive optical element 22a. The active diffractive portion 13 includes an active wave plate 21c and a polarizing diffractive optical element 22b. The optical path switching unit 16 includes a rising mirror 5.

  The emitted light emitted from the semiconductor laser 1 is converted into parallel light by the collimator lens 2, enters the polarization beam splitter 3 as P-polarized light via the active diffraction unit 12, and almost 100% is transmitted. The light that has passed through the polarization beam splitter 3 passes through the quarter-wave plate 4 and is converted from linearly polarized light to circularly polarized light, reflected by the rising mirror 5 of the optical path switching unit 16, and the HD DVD objective lens 6 or BD. The light is condensed in the optical disks 7 and 9 by the objective lens 8 for use. The light reflected by the optical disks 7 and 9 is converted into parallel light by the HD DVD objective lens 6 or the BD objective lens 8, reflected by the rising mirror 5 of the optical path switching unit 16, and transmitted through the quarter-wave plate 4. Thus, circularly polarized light is converted to linearly polarized light. Then, it enters the polarization beam splitter 3 as S-polarized light, and almost 100% is reflected. The light reflected by the polarizing beam splitter 3 is condensed on the photodetector 11 by the astigmatism lens 10 via the active diffraction unit 13.

  Here, the relationship of the XYZ coordinates in the optical head 80 and the optical discs 7 and 9 is determined. As shown in FIG. 2, the X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis indicate the radial direction, tangential direction, and normal direction of the optical disks 7 and 9, respectively. The X axis and the Y axis correspond to the P polarization direction and the S polarization direction with respect to the polarization beam splitter 3, respectively. The Z axis is parallel to the optical axes of the HD DVD objective lens 6 and the BD objective lens 8.

  FIG. 3 shows an arrangement of the HD DVD objective lens 6 and the BD objective lens 8 with respect to the optical disks 7 and 9. The HD DVD objective lens 6 and the BD objective lens 8 are arranged side by side in the Y-axis direction. The HD DVD objective lens 6 is disposed on a straight line parallel to the moving direction (X-axis direction) of the optical head passing through the centers of the optical disks 7 and 9. The BD objective lens 8 is arranged on a straight line that is parallel to the moving direction (X-axis direction) of the optical head 80 and does not pass through the centers of the optical disks 7 and 9. By disposing the HD DVD objective lens 6 and the BD objective lens 8 in this way, both objective lenses can be moved to a position to access the innermost recording area of the optical disks 7 and 9.

  The optical path switching unit 16 includes a rising mirror 5 whose installation position is movable. The raising mirror 5 can be moved by a raising mirror driving device (not shown). The position of the rising mirror 5 at the time of recording / reproducing HD DVD is indicated by a broken line in FIG. 1, and the position of the rising mirror 5 at the time of recording / reproducing BD is indicated by a solid line in FIG. That is, at the time of recording or reproducing HD DVD, the light reflected by the rising mirror 5 in the forward path is arranged at a position where it enters the objective lens 6 for HD DVD, and at the time of recording or reproducing BD, the rising mirror is disposed at the forward path. 5 is arranged at a position where the light reflected by 5 enters the BD objective lens 8.

  The polarization beam splitter 3 transmits light incident as P-polarized light and reflects light incident as S-polarized light. Light incident on the polarization beam splitter 3 from the semiconductor laser 1 is P-polarized light and passes through the polarization beam splitter 3. Light reflected by the optical discs 7 and 9 and incident on the polarization beam splitter 3 is S-polarized light and is reflected by the polarization beam splitter 3. That is, the polarization beam splitter 3 travels from the semiconductor laser 1 to the HD DVD objective lens 6 or the BD objective lens 8 and to the photodetector 11 from the HD DVD objective lens 6 or the BD objective lens 8. It works as a light separation unit that separates light from the return path.

  As illustrated in FIG. 4, the photodetector 11 includes light receiving units 421, 422, and 423. The light receiving units 421, 422, and 423 are divided into four respectively by a dividing line corresponding to the tangential direction of the optical disks 7 and 9 and a dividing line corresponding to the radial direction. That is, the light receiving unit 421 is divided into regions 42a to 42d, the light receiving unit 422 is divided into regions 42e to 42h, and the light receiving unit 423 is divided into regions 42e to 42h, and electrical signals are output from the respective regions according to the amount of received light. In addition, the area | regions which attached | subjected the same code | symbol are electrically connected.

  The active diffractive portion 12 includes active wave plates 21a to 21b and a polarizing diffractive optical element 22a, and the active diffractive portion 13 includes an active wave plate 21c and a polarizing diffractive optical element 22b. First, the configuration and operation of the active wave plate 21 arranged as the active wave plates 21a to 21c will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the active wave plate 21 is configured such that a liquid crystal layer 31 including a liquid crystal polymer 29 that is a twisted nematic liquid crystal is sandwiched between a glass plate 30 and a glass plate 32. An electrode (not shown) for applying a voltage V to the liquid crystal layer 31 is formed on the surface of the glass plates 30 and 32 on the liquid crystal layer 31 side. When the voltage V is not applied to the liquid crystal layer 31, as shown in FIG. 5A, the alignment direction of the liquid crystal polymer 29 is orthogonal to the optical axis (Z-axis direction). Therefore, when linearly polarized light is incident on the active wavelength plate 21, the light transmitted through the active wavelength plate 21 is emitted as linearly polarized light in a direction orthogonal to the polarization direction of the incident light due to the optical rotation of the twisted nematic liquid crystal. . On the other hand, when the voltage V is applied to the liquid crystal layer 31, an electric field parallel to the optical axis is generated in the liquid crystal layer 31. Therefore, the alignment direction of the liquid crystal polymer 29 is parallel to the optical axis as shown in FIG. At this time, even if light enters the active wave plate 21, the polarization state of the light transmitted through the active wave plate 21 does not change. The active wavelength plate 21a sandwiches the liquid crystal layer 31a between the glass plate 30a and the glass plate 32a, and the active wavelength plate 21b sandwiches the liquid crystal layer 31b between the glass plate 30b and the glass plate 32b. The plate 21c is configured such that the liquid crystal layer 31c is sandwiched between the glass plate 30c and the glass plate 32c, and the operation of the active wave plates 21a, 21b, and 21c is the same as that of the active wave plate 21.

  Next, the configuration and operation of the polarizing diffractive optical element 22a will be described. FIG. 6 is a top view and a cross-sectional view of the polarizing diffractive optical element 22a. As shown in FIG. 6A, the polarizing diffractive optical element 22a is divided into a region 23a and a region 23b. In each of the regions 23a and 23b, as shown in FIG. 6B, optical isotropic bodies 33a and optical anisotropic bodies 34a are alternately arranged in a lattice pattern. The optical isotropic body 33a and the optical anisotropic body 34a arranged in a lattice shape are sandwiched between optical isotropic bodies 33b and 33c.

  If the refractive index for the polarization component (abnormal light component) in the direction parallel to the Y axis of the optical anisotropic body 34a is ne, and the refractive index for the polarization component (ordinary light component) in the direction orthogonal to the Y axis is no, ne is Bigger than no. On the other hand, the refractive index of the optical isotropic body 33a is equal to the refractive index no with respect to the ordinary light component of the optical anisotropic body 34a. Therefore, the polarizing diffractive optical element 22a operates as a diffraction grating having diffraction efficiency corresponding to the refractive indices ne and no and the grating depth with respect to linearly polarized light parallel to the Y axis. Further, the phase of the ± 1st order diffracted light from the region 23a and the phase of the ± 1st order diffracted light from the region 23b are shifted from each other by 180 °. On the other hand, the polarizing diffractive optical element 22a does not operate as a diffraction grating for linearly polarized light parallel to the X axis.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the active diffractive portion 12 including the active wave plate 21a, the polarizing diffractive optical element 22a, and the active wave plate 21b has a voltage applied to the liquid crystal layers 31a and 31b of the active wave plates 21a and 21b. Its operation is controlled.

  When no voltage is applied to the liquid crystal layers 31a and 31b of the active wave plates 21a and 21b (applied voltage = 0), as shown in FIG. 7A, the incident light is linearly polarized light parallel to the X axis. The beam 14a enters the active wave plate 21a, is emitted as linearly polarized light parallel to the Y axis, and enters the polarizing diffractive optical element 22a. Since the polarization diffractive optical element 22a operates as a diffraction grating with respect to linearly polarized light parallel to the Y axis, the ± first order diffracted light (sub beams 38a, 38b) is output together with the 0th order light (main beam 37) from the polarizing diffractive optical element 22a. ) Is emitted. The main beam 37 and the sub beams 38a and 38b enter the active wavelength plate 21b and are emitted as linearly polarized light parallel to the X axis perpendicular to the polarization direction of the incident light.

  On the other hand, when the voltage V is applied to the liquid crystal layers 31a and 31b of the active wave plates 21a and 21b (applied voltage = V), as shown in FIG. 7B, linearly polarized light parallel to the X axis is obtained. The incident beam 14a passes through the active wave plate 21a without changing its polarization state, and enters the polarizing diffractive optical element 22a. Since the polarizing diffractive optical element 22a does not operate as a diffraction grating for linearly polarized light parallel to the X axis, the light is not diffracted and only the main beam 37 is emitted. The main beam 37 enters the active wave plate 21b, and is emitted as linearly polarized light parallel to the X axis without changing the polarization state.

  That is, when the linearly polarized light parallel to the X axis is incident, the active diffraction unit 12 emits the main beam 37 and the sub beams 38a and 38b according to the applied voltage, and emits only the main beam 37. And can be switched.

  Next, the configuration and operation of the polarizing diffractive optical element 22b will be described. FIG. 8 is a top view and a cross-sectional view of the polarizing diffractive optical element 22b. As shown in FIG. 8A, the polarizing diffractive optical element 22b is divided into regions 24a to 24c. In the region 24a, as shown in FIG. 8B, optical isotropic bodies 33d and optical anisotropic bodies 34b are alternately arranged in a lattice pattern. The optical isotropic body 33d and the optically anisotropic body 34d arranged in a lattice shape are sandwiched between the optical isotropic bodies 33e and 33f. In the regions 24b and 24c, the optical isotropic body 33d is sandwiched between the optical isotropic bodies 33e and 33f.

  When the refractive index for the polarization component (abnormal light component) in the direction parallel to the X axis of the optical anisotropic body 34b is ne, and the refractive index for the polarization component (ordinary light component) in the direction orthogonal to the X axis is no, ne is Bigger than no. On the other hand, the refractive index of the optical isotropic body 33d is equal to the refractive index no with respect to the ordinary light component of the optical anisotropic body 34b. Therefore, the region 24a of the polarizing diffractive optical element 22b operates as a diffraction grating having diffraction efficiency corresponding to the magnitudes of the refractive indexes ne and no and the depth of the grating for linearly polarized light parallel to the X axis. On the other hand, the region 24a of the polarizing diffractive optical element 22b does not operate as a diffraction grating for linearly polarized light parallel to the Y axis. Further, since the region 24b and the region 24c are formed of optical isotropic bodies, they do not operate as a diffraction grating regardless of the polarization state of incident light.

  The operation of the active diffractive portion 13 including the active wave plate 21c and the polarizing diffractive optical element 22b is controlled by a voltage applied to the liquid crystal layer 31c of the active wave plate 21c, as shown in FIG.

  When no voltage is applied to the liquid crystal layer 31c of the active wavelength plate 21c (applied voltage = 0), as shown in FIG. 9A, the incident beam 14b, which is linearly polarized light parallel to the Y axis, The light enters the active wave plate 21c, is emitted as linearly polarized light parallel to the X axis, and enters the polarizing diffractive optical element 22b. Since the region 24a of the polarization diffractive optical element 22b functions as a diffraction grating for linearly polarized light parallel to the X-axis direction, the region 24a operates as a diffraction grating for light incident on the region 24a. Therefore, diffracted light (± 1st order diffracted light 36a, 36b) is emitted from the polarizing diffractive optical element 22b together with 0th order light (0th order light 35).

  On the other hand, when the voltage V is applied to the liquid crystal layer 31c of the active wave plate 21c (applied voltage = V), as shown in FIG. 9B, an incident beam that is linearly polarized light parallel to the Y axis. 14b passes through the active wave plate 21c without changing its polarization state, and enters the polarizing diffractive optical element 22b. Since the polarizing diffractive optical element 22b does not operate as a diffraction grating with respect to linearly polarized light parallel to the Y axis, the incident light is not diffracted and only the 0th-order light 35 is emitted.

  Next, a method for detecting an error signal at the time of recording or reproduction of the HD DVD standard optical disc 7 will be described. At the time of recording or reproduction of the HD DVD standard optical disc 7, in the optical path switching unit 16, the rising mirror 5 is arranged so that the forward light reflected by the rising mirror 5 enters the objective lens 6 for HD DVD. . Therefore, the rising mirror 5 is disposed at a position indicated by a broken line in FIG. Further, no voltage is applied to the liquid crystal layers 31a and 31b of the active wave plates 21a and 21b included in the active diffractive section 12, and the polarizing diffractive optical element 22a functions as a diffraction grating. The voltage V is applied to the liquid crystal layer 31c of the active wave plate 21c included in the active diffraction section 13, and the polarizing diffractive optical element 22b does not work as a diffraction grating.

  The outgoing light emitted from the semiconductor laser 1 is converted into parallel light by the collimator lens 2 and enters the active diffraction section 12. No voltage is applied to the liquid crystal layers 31a and 31b of the active wave plates 21a and 21b included in the active diffractive section 12, and the polarizing diffractive optical element 22a functions as a diffraction grating. That is, the polarization direction is rotated by 90 ° by the active wavelength plate 21a, and the light is divided into three beams by the polarizing diffractive optical element 22a. The light emitted from the polarizing diffractive optical element 22a is rotated by 90 ° in the polarization direction by the active wave plate 21b, enters the polarization beam splitter 3 as P-polarized light, and almost 100% is transmitted. Then, the light transmitted through the polarization beam splitter 3 passes through the quarter wavelength plate 4 and is converted from linearly polarized light to circularly polarized light, and enters the optical path switching unit 16. The incident light is reflected by the rising mirror 5 of the optical path switching unit 16 and condensed in the optical disc 7 by the HD DVD objective lens 6.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the arrangement of the condensed spots on the optical disc 7 at this time. The focused spots 40a, 40b, and 40c correspond to the main beam 37, the sub beam 38a, and the sub beam 38b emitted from the polarizing diffractive optical element 22a of the active diffractive section 12, respectively. The three focused spots are arranged on the same track 25a and reflected there. Here, the upper surface of the polarizing diffractive optical element 22a is divided into a region 23a and a region 23b (see FIG. 6A), and the phase of ± first-order diffracted light from the region 23a and the ± first-order diffracted light from the region 23b. The phases are 180 degrees apart from each other. Accordingly, the sub-beams 38a and 38b emitted from the polarizing diffractive optical element 22a are 180 ° out of phase with each other on the left and right sides with a straight line passing through the optical axis and parallel to the tangential direction of the optical disc 7 as a boundary. , 38b have two peaks having equal intensities on the left and right sides with the line segment in the track direction of the optical disc 7 as a boundary.

  The light reflected by the optical disk 7 is converted into parallel light by the HD DVD objective lens 6, reflected by the rising mirror 5, transmitted through the quarter-wave plate 4, and converted from circularly polarized light to linearly polarized light. Then, almost 100% of the light incident on the polarization beam splitter 3 as S-polarized light is reflected and enters the active diffraction section 13. The voltage V is applied to the liquid crystal layer 31c of the active wave plate 21c included in the active diffraction section 13, and the polarizing diffractive optical element 22b does not work as a diffraction grating. Therefore, the incident light passes through the active diffraction part 13 as it is, and is condensed on the photodetector 11 by the astigmatism lens 10.

  FIG. 11 shows the arrangement of the light spots on the photodetector 11 during recording / reproduction of the optical disc 7. The light spots 41a, 41b, and 41c correspond to the main beam 37, the sub beam 38a, and the sub beam 38b emitted from the polarizing diffractive optical element 22a, respectively. The light spot 41a is received by the regions 42a to 42e of the light receiving unit 421, the light spot 41b is received by the regions 42e to 42h of the light receiving unit 422, and the light spot 41c is received by the regions 42e to 42h of the light receiving unit 423. Due to the action of the astigmatism lens 10, the direction corresponding to the tangential direction of the optical disk 7 and the direction corresponding to the radial direction are interchanged on the photodetector 11.

Here, when the output signals output from the regions 42a to 42h of the light receiving units 421 to 423 are represented by V42a to V42h, respectively, the astigmatism signal MAS1 from the main beam 37 and the astigmatism signal SAS1 from the sub beams 38a and 38b are Each is obtained from the following calculation.
MAS1 = (V42a + V42d)-(V42b + V42c)
SAS1 = (V42e + V42h) − (V42f + V42g)

Further, the differential astigmatism signal DAS1 which is a focus error signal used for the focus servo is obtained from the following calculation.
DAS1 = MAS1 + α1 × SAS1 (α1 is a constant)

The push-pull signal MPP1 by the main beam 37 and the push-pull signal SPP1 by the sub beams 38a and 38b are obtained from the following calculations, respectively.
MPP1 = (V42a + V42b) − (V42c + V42d)
SPP1 = (V42e + V42f) − (V42g + V42h)

Further, the differential push-pull signal DPP1 which is a track error signal used for the track servo is obtained from the following calculation.
DPP1 = MPP1-β1 × SPP1 (β1 is a constant)

  Further, the RF signal recorded on the optical disc 7 is obtained from a high frequency component of (V42a + V42b + V42c + V42d).

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating each push-pull signal and an offset due to lens shift, where the horizontal axis indicates the detrack amount of the optical disc 7 and the vertical axis indicates the size of the push-pull signal. A push-pull signal when the HD DVD objective lens 6 is shifted outward in the radial direction of the optical disc 7 is shown in FIG. The push-pull signal 27a indicates the push-pull signal MPP1 generated by the focused spot 41a, and the push-pull signal 27b indicates the push-pull signal SPP1 generated by the focused spots 41b and 41c.

  FIG. 12B shows a push-pull signal when the HD DVD objective lens 6 is shifted inward in the radial direction of the optical disk 7. The push-pull signal 27c indicates the push-pull signal MPP1 generated by the focused spot 41a, and the push-pull signal 27d indicates the push-pull signal SPP1 generated by the focused spots 41b and 41c.

  FIG. 12C shows a push-pull signal 27e. The push-pull signal 27e is based on the push-pull signal by the condensing spot 41a and the push-pull signal by the condensing spots 41b and 41c when the HD DVD objective lens 6 is shifted outward or inward in the radial direction of the optical disc 7. This is a differential push-pull signal DPP1.

  As shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B, the push-pull signal MPP1 from the condensing spot 41a and the push-pull signal SPP1 from the condensing spots 41b and 41c have opposite polarities. The offset appears as the same polarity. That is, when the HD DVD objective lens 6 is shifted outward in the radial direction of the optical disk 7 (FIG. 12A), the offset of each signal is positive, and the HD DVD objective lens 6 is in the radial direction of the optical disk 7. When the signal is shifted inward (FIG. 12B), the offset of each signal appears on the negative side.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 12C, the differential push-pull signal DPP1 has no offset due to lens shift. This is because the offset of the push-pull signal MPP1 by the condensing spot 41a shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B and the push-pull signal by the condensing spots 41b and 41c shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B. This is because the offset of SPP1 is offset.

  Next, a method for detecting an error signal during recording or reproduction of the BD standard optical disc 9 will be described. At the time of recording or reproduction of the BD standard optical disc 9, in the optical path switching unit 16, the rising mirror 5 is arranged so that the forward light reflected by the rising mirror 5 is incident on the objective lens 8 for BD. Therefore, the rising mirror 5 is disposed at a position indicated by a solid line in FIG. Further, the voltage V is applied to the liquid crystal layers 31a and 31b of the active wave plates 21a and 21b included in the active diffractive portion 12, and no diffracted light is generated in the polarizing diffractive optical element 22a. No voltage is applied to the liquid crystal layer 31c of the active wave plate 21c included in the active diffractive portion 13, and ± 1st order diffracted light 36a, 36b is generated in the polarizing diffractive optical element 22b.

  The outgoing light emitted from the semiconductor laser 1 is converted into parallel light by the collimator lens 2 and enters the active diffraction section 12. Since the voltage V is applied to the liquid crystal layers 31a and 31b of the active wave plates 21a and 21b, the polarizing diffractive optical element 22a does not function as a diffraction grating. Therefore, the incident light passes through the active diffraction section 12 as it is, enters the polarization beam splitter 3 as P-polarized light, and almost 100% is transmitted. The light transmitted through the polarization beam splitter 3 passes through the quarter wavelength plate 4, is converted from linearly polarized light into circularly polarized light, and enters the optical path switching unit 16. The incident light is reflected by the rising mirror 5 of the optical path switching unit 16 and condensed in the optical disk 9 by the BD objective lens 8.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the arrangement of the condensing spots on the optical disc 9. Since no diffracted light is generated in the polarizing diffractive optical element 22a of the active diffractive section 12, a 0th-order light condensing spot 40d is disposed on the track 25b. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the relationship between the incident light on the optical disk 9 and the reflected light from the optical disk 9. The incident light 48 collected in the optical disk 9 generates diffracted light in the track grooves of the optical disk 9 when reflected by the optical disk 9. Therefore, the reflected light from the optical disk 9 toward the BD objective lens 8 includes the 0th-order light 45 and the ± 1st-order diffracted lights 46a and 46b.

  The light reflected by the optical disk 9 is converted into parallel light by the BD objective lens 8, reflected by the rising mirror 5, transmitted through the quarter wavelength plate 4, and converted from circularly polarized light to linearly polarized light. Then, almost 100% of the light incident on the polarization beam splitter 3 as S-polarized light is reflected and enters the active diffraction section 13.

  Since no voltage is applied to the liquid crystal layer 31c of the active wave plate 21c included in the active diffractive section 13, the light whose polarization direction is rotated by 90 ° by the active wave plate 21c enters the polarizing diffractive optical element 22b. As shown in FIG. 15 (FIG. 8A), the polarizing diffractive optical element 22b is divided into three regions. ± 1st-order diffracted light 36a, 36b is generated in the light incident on the region 24a where the diffraction grating is formed. Diffracted light is not generated in the light incident on the regions 24b and 24c where the diffraction grating is not formed. The light incident on the polarizing diffractive optical element 22b includes 0th-order light 45 and ± 1st-order diffracted lights 46a and 46b when reflected by the optical disk 9. As shown in FIG. 15, the ± first-order diffracted lights 46a and 46b are partially shifted from the zero-order light 45 in the radial direction of the optical disc 9 (X direction in FIG. 15). 45 and incident. The beam 43 shown in FIG. 15 represents the light incident on the polarizing diffractive optical element 22b, and the regions 44a and 44b surrounded by the arc of the beam 43 are the zero-order light 45 and the ± first-order diffracted lights 46a and 46b. Represents the area where. Since the regions 44a and 44b of the beam 43 are included in the regions 24b and 24c of the polarizing diffractive optical element 22b, the light in this region is not diffracted by the polarizing diffractive optical element 22b. Therefore, the light incident on the region 24 a of the polarizing diffractive optical element 22 b is divided into three beams and emitted, and is collected by the astigmatism lens 10 on the photodetector 11.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the arrangement of the light spots on the photodetector 11 during recording / reproduction of the optical disk 9. The light spots 41d, 41e, and 41f shown in FIG. 16 correspond to the 0th order light 35, the + 1st order diffracted light 36a, and the −1st order diffracted light 36b from the polarizing diffractive optical element 22b, respectively. The light spot 41d is received by the regions 42a to 42e of the light receiving unit 421, the light spot 41e is received by the regions 42e to 42h of the light receiving unit 422, and the light spot 41f is received by the regions 42e to 42h of the light receiving unit 423. Due to the action of the astigmatism lens 10, the direction corresponding to the tangential direction of the optical disk 9 and the direction corresponding to the radial direction are interchanged on the photodetector 11.

Here, when the output signals output from the regions 42a to 42h of the light receiving units 421 to 423 are represented by V42a to V42h, respectively, the astigmatism signal MAS2 from the 0th order light 35 and the astigmatism from the ± 1st order diffracted lights 36a and 36b. The signal SAS2 is obtained from the following operations, respectively.
MAS2 = (V42a + V42d)-(V42b + V42c)
SAS2 = (V42e + V42h) − (V42f + V42g)

Further, the differential astigmatism signal DAS2 which is a focus error signal used for the focus servo is obtained from the following calculation.
DAS2 = MAS2 + α2 × SAS2 (α2 is a constant)

The push-pull signal MPP2 by the 0th-order light 35 and the push-pull signal SPP2 by the ± 1st-order diffracted lights 36a and 36b are obtained from the following calculations, respectively.
MPP2 = (V42a + V42b)-(V42c + V42d)
SPP2 = (V42e + V42f)-(V42g + V42h)

Further, the differential push-pull signal DPP2 which is a track error signal used for the track servo is obtained from the following calculation.
DPP2 = MPP2-β2 × SPP2 (β2 is a constant)

  Further, the RF signal recorded on the optical disc 9 is obtained from a high frequency component of (V42a + V42b + V42c + V42d).

  FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating each push-pull signal and an offset due to lens shift, in which the horizontal axis indicates the detrack amount of the optical disc 9 and the vertical axis indicates the size of the push-pull signal. A push-pull signal when the BD objective lens 8 is shifted outward in the radial direction of the optical disk 9 is shown in FIG. The push-pull signal 28a indicates the push-pull signal MPP2 due to the condensing spot 41d, and the push-pull signal 28b indicates the push-pull signal SPP2 due to the condensing spots 41e and 41f.

  FIG. 17B shows a push-pull signal when the BD objective lens 8 is shifted inward in the radial direction of the optical disc 9. The push-pull signal 28c indicates the push-pull signal MPP2 due to the condensing spot 41d, and the push-pull signal 28d indicates the push-pull signal SPP2 due to the condensing spots 41e and 41f.

  FIG. 17C shows the push-pull signal 28e. The push-pull signal 28e is a difference based on the push-pull signal generated by the focused spot 41d and the push-pull signal generated by the focused spots 41e and 41f when the BD objective lens 8 is shifted to the outer side or the inner side in the radial direction of the optical disc 9. The dynamic push-pull signal DPP2 is shown.

  As shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B, the offset of the push-pull signal MPP2 due to the focused spot 41d and the offset of the push-pull signal SPP2 due to the focused spots 41e and 41f appear as the same polarity. That is, when the BD objective lens 8 is shifted to the outer side in the radial direction of the optical disk 9 (FIG. 17A), the offset of each signal is on the positive side, and the BD objective lens 8 is on the inner side in the radial direction of the optical disk 9. When shifted (FIG. 17B), the offset of each signal appears on the negative side.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 17C, the differential push-pull signal DPP2 has no offset due to lens shift. This is because the offset of the push-pull signal MPP2 by the focused spot 41d shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B and the push-pull signal by the focused spots 41e and 41f shown in FIGS. This is because the offset of SPP2 is offset.

  From the above, it is a track error signal at the time of recording or reproduction of the optical disc 7 by controlling the voltage applied to the liquid crystal layers 31a, 31b, 31c of the active wave plates 21a, 21b, 21c and switching the constant β1 and the constant β2. It is possible to switch between the differential push-pull signal DPP1 and the differential push-pull signal DPP2 that is a track error signal at the time of recording or reproduction of the optical disc 9. As a result, it is possible to detect a track error signal that does not cause an offset due to lens shift, using the light receiving unit of the same photodetector 11 and the same arithmetic expression for the optical disc 7 and the optical disc 9.

  As described above, an optical head capable of detecting a track error signal that does not cause an offset due to a lens shift, can be applied to an optical disk of a land / groove recording system without complicating an optical system configuration even if the optical disk conforms to different standards. Can be provided. Accordingly, it is possible to provide an optical head in which the reproduction signal quality is not deteriorated in reproduction of any optical disk.

  FIG. 18 shows a configuration of an optical head 81 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  The optical head 81 includes a semiconductor laser 1, a collimator lens 2, an active diffraction unit 12 a, a polarizing beam splitter 3, quarter wave plates 4 a and 4 b, a rising mirror 5, an HD DVD objective lens 6, a BD objective lens 8, An active diffractive portion 13a, an astigmatism lens 10, and a photodetector 11 are provided. The active diffractive portion 12a includes an active wave plate 21d and a polarizing diffractive optical element 22c, and the active diffractive portion 13a includes a polarizing diffractive optical element 22d.

  The arrangement of the HD DVD objective lens 6 for the HD DVD standard optical disc 7 and the BD objective lens 8 for the BD standard optical disc 9 are the same as those of the optical head 80 described in the first embodiment. The photodetector 11 is the same as the photodetector 11 described in the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted. Hereinafter, parts different from the first embodiment will be described.

  The polarization beam splitter 3 transmits light incident as P-polarized light and reflects light incident as S-polarized light. At the time of HD DVD recording or reproduction, the polarization beam splitter 3 separates the forward light from the semiconductor laser 1 toward the HD DVD objective lens 6 and the backward light from the HD DVD objective lens 6 toward the photodetector 11. To do. At the time of BD recording or reproduction, the polarization beam splitter 3 separates the forward light from the semiconductor laser 1 toward the BD objective lens 8 and the backward light from the BD objective lens 8 toward the photodetector 11. That is, the polarization beam splitter 3 functions as a light separation unit and also functions as an optical path switching unit in cooperation with the active wavelength plate 21d.

  The active diffractive portion 12a includes an active wave plate 21d and a polarizing diffractive optical element 22c, and the active diffractive portion 13a includes a polarizing diffractive optical element 22d. The active wave plate 21d has the same configuration and function as the active wave plate 21 shown in FIG. 5, and is configured such that the liquid crystal layer 31d is sandwiched between the glass plate 30d and the glass plate 32d. The polarizing diffractive optical element 22c has the same configuration and function as the polarizing diffractive optical element 22a described in the first embodiment. The polarizing diffractive optical element 22d has the same configuration and function as the polarizing diffractive optical element 22b described in the first embodiment. Accordingly, the polarizing diffractive optical elements 22c and 22d operate as a diffraction grating having diffraction efficiency corresponding to the magnitudes of the refractive indexes ne and no and the depth of the grating for linearly polarized light parallel to the Y axis. On the other hand, it does not operate as a diffraction grating for linearly polarized light parallel to the X axis. That is, when no voltage is applied to the liquid crystal layer 31d of the active wave plate 21d (applied voltage = 0), the polarizing diffractive optical element 22c operates as a diffractive optical element, and the polarizing diffractive optical element 22d does not operate as a diffractive optical element. . When the voltage V is applied to the liquid crystal layer 31d (applied voltage = V), the polarizing diffractive optical element 22c does not operate as a diffractive optical element, and the polarizing diffractive optical element 22d operates as a diffractive optical element.

  When recording or reproducing HD DVD, no voltage is applied to the liquid crystal layer 31d of the active wave plate 21d, the polarizing diffractive optical element 22c is operated as a diffractive optical element, and the polarizing diffractive optical element 22d is not operated as a diffractive optical element. . At the time of recording or reproducing BD, a voltage V is applied to the liquid crystal layer 31d of the active wavelength plate 21d so that the polarizing diffractive optical element 22c does not operate as a diffractive optical element, and the polarizing diffractive optical element 22d operates as a diffractive optical element. .

  During recording or reproduction of HD DVD, the light emitted from the semiconductor laser 1 is converted into parallel light by the collimator lens 2, the polarization direction is rotated by 90 ° by the active wavelength plate 21d, and three beams are output by the polarizing diffractive optical element 22c. It is divided into. The light emitted from the polarizing diffractive optical element 22c enters the polarization beam splitter 3 as S-polarized light and is reflected almost 100%. Then, the light passes through the quarter-wave plate 4 a, is converted from linearly polarized light to circularly polarized light, and is condensed in the optical disk 7 by the HD DVD objective lens 6. The light reflected by the optical disc 7 is converted into parallel light by the HD DVD objective lens 6, passes through the quarter-wave plate 4 a, and is converted from circularly polarized light to linearly polarized light. Then, it enters the polarization beam splitter 3 as P-polarized light, and almost 100% is transmitted. Then, the light passes through the polarizing diffractive optical element 22 d and is condensed on the photodetector 11 by the astigmatism lens 10.

  At the time of BD recording or reproduction, the light emitted from the semiconductor laser 1 is converted into parallel light by the collimator lens 2, passes through the active wavelength plate 21 d and the polarizing diffractive optical element 22 c, and enters the polarizing beam splitter 3 as P-polarized light. Incident and almost 100% is transmitted. Then, it is reflected by the rising mirror 5, passes through the quarter-wave plate 4 b, is converted from linearly polarized light to circularly polarized light, and is condensed in the optical disk 9 by the BD objective lens 8. The light reflected by the optical disk 9 is converted into parallel light by the BD objective lens 8, transmitted through the quarter-wave plate 4b, converted from circularly polarized light to linearly polarized light, reflected by the rising mirror 5, and polarized light. It enters the splitter 3 as S-polarized light, and almost 100% is reflected. Then, the light is divided into three beams by the polarizing diffractive optical element 22 d and is condensed on the photodetector 11 by the astigmatism lens 10.

  The condensing spots formed in the optical disks 7 and 9, the arrangement of the light spots on the photodetector 11, the error signal detection method, and the calculation formula for obtaining the error signal are shown in the first embodiment. This is the same as the calculation formula in the optical head 80.

  As described above, by controlling the voltage applied to the liquid crystal layer 31d of the active wavelength plate 21d and switching between the constant β1 and the constant β2, the differential push-pull signal DPP1 that is a track error signal at the time of recording or reproduction of the optical disc 7; Switching to the differential push-pull signal DPP2, which is a track error signal at the time of recording or reproduction of the optical disc 9, becomes possible. A track error signal that does not cause an offset due to lens shift can be detected by using the same light receiving unit of the optical detector 11 and the same arithmetic expression for the optical disc 7 and the optical disc 9. Further, the optical head 81 of the present embodiment is different from the optical head 80 of the first embodiment in that there is no rising mirror driving mechanism and the number of active wave plates is reduced, so that the configuration of the optical system Can be further simplified.

  FIG. 19 shows the configuration of an optical information recording / reproducing apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The optical information recording / reproducing apparatus includes an optical head 80, a modulation circuit 50, a recording signal generation circuit 51, a semiconductor laser driving circuit 52, an amplification circuit 53, a reproduction signal processing circuit 59, a demodulation circuit 60, and the like described in the first embodiment. An error signal generation circuit 57, an objective lens drive circuit 58, a disk discrimination circuit 54, a rising mirror drive circuit 56, an active wavelength plate drive circuit 55, and an optical head drive mechanism 62 are provided. The optical head driving mechanism 62 moves the optical head 80 in the radial direction of the optical disks 7 and 9.

  The modulation circuit 50 modulates data to be recorded on the optical disks 7 and 9 according to a modulation rule. The recording signal generation circuit 51 generates a recording signal for driving the semiconductor laser 1 according to the recording strategy based on the signal modulated by the modulation circuit 50. The semiconductor laser driving circuit 52 drives the semiconductor laser 1 by supplying a current corresponding to the recording signal to the semiconductor laser 1 based on the recording signal generated by the recording signal generating circuit 51. As a result, data is recorded on the optical disks 7 and 9.

  The amplifier circuit 53 amplifies the output from each light receiving unit of the photodetector 11. The reproduction signal processing circuit 59 performs generation, waveform equalization, and binarization of an RF signal that is a mark / space signal recorded on the optical discs 7 and 9 based on the signal amplified by the amplification circuit 53. The demodulation circuit 60 demodulates the signal binarized by the reproduction signal processing circuit 59 according to the demodulation rule. As a result, data is reproduced from the optical discs 7 and 9.

  The error signal generation circuit 57 generates a focus error signal and a track error signal based on the signal amplified by the amplification circuit 53. The objective lens drive circuit 58 is connected to an actuator (not shown) for driving the HD DVD objective lens 6 and the BD objective lens 8 based on the focus error signal and the track error signal generated by the error signal generation circuit 57. A current corresponding to the focus error signal and the track error signal is supplied to drive the HD DVD objective lens 6 and the BD objective lens 8. Further, the optical head 80 is driven in the radial direction of the optical disks 7 and 9 by the optical head driving mechanism 62. The optical disks 7 and 9 are rotationally driven by a spindle (not shown). Thus, focus, track, optical head drive (movement), and spindle servo are performed.

  The disc discrimination circuit 54 discriminates which standard optical disc the optical disc is based on the signal amplified by the amplification circuit 53. The disc discriminating circuit 54 checks whether the thickness of the protective layer is 0.1 mm or 0.6 mm from the interval between the zero cross points of the focus error signals from the surfaces of the optical discs 7 and 9 and the recording surface. The disc discriminating circuit 54 determines that the optical disc is a BD standard optical disc 9 if the protective layer thickness is 0.1 mm, and the optical disc is an HD DVD standard optical disc if the protective layer thickness is 0.6 mm. 7 is determined.

  The rising mirror driving circuit 56 supplies current to the rising mirror driving mechanism (not shown) in accordance with the optical disc standard determined by the disk determining circuit 54 to drive the rising mirror 5 of the optical path switching unit 16. To do. When the optical disc discriminated by the disc discriminating circuit 54 is the HD DVD standard optical disc 7, the rising mirror 5 is arranged so that the light emitted from the quarter-wave plate 4 enters the objective lens 6 for HD DVD. The When the optical disc discriminated by the disc discriminating circuit 54 is the BD standard optical disc 9, the rising mirror 5 is arranged so that the light emitted from the quarter wavelength plate 4 enters the objective lens 8 for BD. The

  The active wave plate driving circuit 55 applies a voltage to the electrodes (not shown) of the active wave plates 21a, 21b, and 21c based on the type of the optical disk determined by the disk determination circuit 54, and the active wave plate 21a. , 21b, 21c are driven. Thus, the error signal detection method is switched according to the type of the optical disk.

  A circuit related to data recording from the modulation circuit 50 to the semiconductor laser drive circuit 52, a circuit related to data reproduction from the amplification circuit 53 to the demodulation circuit 60, a circuit related to servo from the amplification circuit 53 to the objective lens drive circuit 58, A circuit related to the compatibility from the amplification circuit 53 to the rising mirror driving circuit 56 and the active wave plate driving circuit 55, and the optical head driving mechanism 62 are controlled by a controller (not shown).

  The optical information recording / reproducing apparatus shown in the present embodiment is an optical information recording / reproducing apparatus that performs recording and reproduction on the optical disks 7 and 9. However, the optical information recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention is not limited to recording and reproduction with respect to the optical disks 7 and 9. The optical information recording / reproducing apparatus of the present embodiment may be an optical information reproducing apparatus that performs only reproduction on the optical disks 7 and 9. In this case, the semiconductor laser 1 is not driven by the semiconductor laser driving circuit 52 based on the recording signal, but is driven so that the power of the emitted light is constant.

  FIG. 20 shows the configuration of an optical information recording / reproducing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. The optical information recording / reproducing apparatus according to this embodiment includes the optical head 81, the modulation circuit 50, the recording signal generation circuit 51, the semiconductor laser driving circuit 52, the amplification circuit 53, and the reproduction signal processing circuit described in the second embodiment. 59, a demodulating circuit 60, an error signal generating circuit 57, an objective lens driving circuit 58, a disk discriminating circuit 54, an active wave plate driving circuit 55, and an optical head driving mechanism 62. The optical head drive mechanism 62 moves the optical head 81 in the radial direction of the optical disks 7 and 9.

  The active wave plate driving circuit 55 applies a voltage to an electrode (not shown) of the active wave plate 21d based on the type of the optical disk discriminated by the disc discriminating circuit 54 to drive the active wave plate 21d. When the optical disc discriminated by the disc discriminating circuit 54 is the HD DVD standard optical disc 7, the active wavelength plate 21d reflects the light emitted from the active wavelength plate 21d by the polarization beam splitter 3 to the HD DVD objective lens 6. Driven to be incident. When the optical disc discriminated by the disc discriminating circuit 54 is the BD standard optical disc 9, the active wavelength plate 21d transmits the light emitted from the active wavelength plate 21d through the polarization beam splitter 3 and enters the objective lens 8 for BD. To be driven. Simultaneously with the driving of the active wavelength plate 21d, the error signal detection method is switched according to the type of the optical disk.

  A circuit related to data recording from the modulation circuit 50 to the semiconductor laser drive circuit 52, a circuit related to data reproduction from the amplification circuit 53 to the demodulation circuit 60, a circuit related to servo from the amplification circuit 53 to the objective lens drive circuit 58, A circuit related to compatibility from the amplifier circuit 53 to the active wave plate driving circuit 55, the optical head driving mechanism 62, is controlled by a controller (not shown).

  The optical information recording / reproducing apparatus shown in the present embodiment is an optical information recording / reproducing apparatus that performs recording and reproduction on the optical disks 7 and 9. However, the optical information recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention is not limited to recording and reproduction with respect to the optical disks 7 and 9. The optical information recording / reproducing apparatus of the present embodiment may be an optical information reproducing apparatus that performs only reproduction on the optical disks 7 and 9. In this case, the semiconductor laser 1 is not driven by the semiconductor laser driving circuit 52 based on the recording signal, but is driven so that the power of the emitted light is constant.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the optical head which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the relationship between the optical disk and XYZ coordinate. It is a figure which shows arrangement | positioning of two objective lenses with respect to the same optical disk. It is a figure which shows the structure of the light-receiving part of the photodetector. It is a figure for demonstrating the structure and operation | movement of the active wavelength plate. It is the top view and sectional drawing of the polarization diffractive optical element. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the active diffraction section 12. It is the top view and sectional drawing of the polarization diffractive optical element. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the active diffraction section 13. It is a figure which shows arrangement | positioning of the condensing spot formed on the optical disk of the same HD DVD specification. It is a figure which shows arrangement | positioning of the light spot on the photodetector at the time of the recording / reproducing of the optical disk of the same HD DVD standard. It is a figure which shows each push pull signal at the time of recording / reproducing of the optical disk of the same HD DVD specification, and the offset by a lens shift. It is a figure which shows arrangement | positioning of the condensing spot formed on the optical disk of the BD specification. It is a figure explaining the relationship between the incident light to the same optical disk, and the reflected light from an optical disk. It is a figure explaining the light which injects into the polarization diffractive optical element 22b. It is a figure which shows arrangement | positioning of the light spot on the photodetector at the time of the recording / reproducing of the optical disk of the same BD standard. It is a figure which shows each push pull signal at the time of recording / reproducing of the optical disk of the same BD standard, and the offset by a lens shift. It is a figure which shows the structure of the optical head which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the information recording / reproducing apparatus which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the information recording / reproducing apparatus which concerns on the 4th Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Semiconductor laser 2 Collimator lens 3 Polarization beam splitter 4, 4a, 4b 1/4 wavelength plate 5 Rising mirror 6 HD DVD objective lens 7 Optical disk (HD DVD)
8 Objective lens for BD 9 Optical disc (BD)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Astigmatism lens 11 Photodetector 12, 12a Active diffraction part 13, 13a Active diffraction part 14a, 14b Incident beam 16 Optical path switching part 21a-21d Active wavelength plate 22a-22d Polarization diffractive optical element 23a, 23b Area | region 24a- 24c region 25a, 25b track 27a-27e push-pull signal 28a-28e push-pull signal 29 liquid crystal polymer 30, 30a-30d glass plate 31, 31a-31d liquid crystal layer 32, 32a-32d glass plate 33a-33f optical isotropy Body 34a, 34b Optical anisotropic body 35 0th order light 36a + 1st order diffracted light 36b -1st order diffracted light 37 Main beam 38a, 38b Sub beam 40a-40d Condensing spot 41a-41f Light spot 42a-42h Area 43 Beam 44a, 44b Area 45 0th order 46a + 1st order diffracted light 46b -1st order diffracted light 48 incident light 50 modulation circuit 51 recording signal generation circuit 52 semiconductor laser drive circuit 53 amplifier circuit 54 disk discrimination circuit 55 active wave plate drive circuit 56 rise mirror drive circuit 57 error signal generation circuit 58 Objective lens drive circuit 59 Reproduction signal processing circuit 60 Demodulation circuit 62 Optical head drive mechanism 80, 81 Optical head

Claims (16)

A light source;
A first objective lens that is provided between the light source and the optical disc and focuses light emitted from the light source onto a recording surface of a first optical disc having the first optical characteristic of the optical disc;
A second objective lens that is provided between the light source and the optical disc and focuses the light emitted from the light source on a recording surface of a second optical disc having a second optical characteristic of the optical disc;
A photodetector for receiving reflected light from the first optical disc or reflected light from the second optical disc;
A light separation unit that separates light from the light source toward the optical disk and light from the optical disk toward the photodetector;
A first active diffractive unit that is provided between the light source and the light separating unit and capable of switching whether the light emitted from the light source is diffracted or not;
A second active diffractive section provided between the light separating section and the photodetector, and capable of switching whether or not the reflected light reflected by the first optical disc or the second optical disc is diffracted. Equipped,
The photodetector is
A first light receiving unit group configured to receive light transmitted through the first active diffracting unit as 0th order light in the forward path and transmitted through the second active diffractive unit as 0th order light in the return path;
Diffracted as + 1st order diffracted light by the first active diffractive part in the forward path, and transmitted through the second active diffractive part as 0th order light in the return path, and transmitted through the first active diffractive part as 0th order light in the forward path; A second light receiving unit group that selectively receives light diffracted as + 1st order diffracted light by the second active diffraction unit in the return path;
Light diffracted as −1st order diffracted light by the first active diffractive part in the forward path, and transmitted through the second active diffractive part as 0th order light in the return path, and transmitted through the first active diffractive part as 0th order light in the forward path An optical head comprising: a third light receiving unit group that selectively receives light diffracted as -1st order diffracted light by the second active diffraction unit in the return path. When the first objective lens and the second objective lens move in the radial direction of the optical disc,
The first objective lens is disposed so that the center of the optical disc is on an extension of a straight line indicating a locus of a focused spot formed in the optical disc by the first objective lens,
2. The light according to claim 1, wherein the second objective lens is arranged such that a center of the optical disc is not on a linear extension line indicating a locus of a condensed spot formed in the optical disc by the second objective lens. head. 3. The optical head according to claim 1, wherein the first active diffractive portion includes a first polarizing diffractive optical element having a diffraction efficiency different depending on a polarization direction of incident light. 3. The optical head according to claim 1, wherein the second active diffractive portion includes a second polarizing diffractive optical element having a diffraction efficiency different depending on a polarization direction of incident light. 4. The optical head according to claim 3, wherein the first active diffractive portion further includes a first active wave plate capable of changing a polarization direction of transmitted light between the light source and the first polarizing diffractive optical element. . The said 1st active diffractive part is further equipped with the 2nd active wavelength plate which can change the polarization direction of the light to permeate | transmit between the said 1st polarization diffractive optical element and the said light separation part. Light head. The said 2nd active diffraction part is further equipped with the 3rd active wavelength plate which can change the polarization direction of the light to permeate | transmit between the said light separation part and the said 2nd polarization diffractive optical element. Light head. The optical head according to claim 1, further comprising a first optical path switching unit that selectively guides the light emitted from the light source to the first objective lens or the second objective lens. The first optical path switching unit includes a movable mirror,
The movable mirror is
During recording or reproduction of the first optical disc, the light source emission light is positioned so as to be guided to the first objective lens,
The optical head according to claim 8, wherein the optical head is positioned so as to guide the light emitted from the light source to the second objective lens during recording or reproduction of the second optical disc. A second optical path switching unit is configured by the first active wave plate of the first active diffraction unit and the light separation unit,
The second optical path switching unit is
During recording or reproduction of the first optical disc, it works to guide the light emitted from the light source to the first objective lens,
The optical head according to claim 5, wherein when the second optical disk is recorded or reproduced, the optical head works so as to guide the light emitted from the light source to the second objective lens. An optical head according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
A first circuit system for switching the functions of the first and second active diffraction sections;
An optical head drive mechanism for moving the optical head in the radial direction of the optical disc;
An optical information recording / reproducing apparatus comprising: an error signal generation unit that generates a track error signal by the same arithmetic expression using a signal output from the photodetector with respect to the first optical disc and the second optical disc. The first circuit system includes:
During recording or reproduction of the first optical disc, the light incident on the first active diffractive part is diffracted, and the light incident on the second active diffractive part is not diffracted. Switch work,
At the time of recording or reproducing the second optical disk, the light incident on the second active diffractive part is diffracted, and the light incident on the first active diffractive part is not diffracted. The optical information recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the function is switched. A second circuit system for switching the function of the first optical path switching unit;
The second circuit system is:
During the recording or reproduction of the first optical disc, the function of the first optical path switching unit is switched so that the emitted light from the light source is guided to the first objective lens,
The optical information recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein when the second optical disk is recorded or reproduced, the function of the first optical path switching unit is switched so that light emitted from the light source is guided to the second objective lens. The first active diffractive portion includes the first polarizing diffractive optical element;
The first active wave plate provided between the light source and the first polarizing diffractive optical element;
The second optical path switching unit is configured by the first active wave plate of the first active diffraction unit and the light separation unit,
The first circuit system includes:
While switching the function of the first and second active diffraction parts,
During the recording or reproduction of the first optical disc, the function of the second optical path switching unit is switched so that the emitted light from the light source is guided to the first objective lens,
The optical information recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein when the second optical disk is recorded or reproduced, the function of the second optical path switching unit is switched so that light emitted from the light source is guided to the second objective lens. An emission step of emitting light emitted from the light source; and
A first condensing step of condensing the light emitted from the light source by a first objective lens on a recording surface of a first optical disc having a first optical characteristic of the optical disc;
A second condensing step of condensing the light emitted from the light source by a second objective lens on a recording surface of a second optical disc having the second optical characteristic of the optical disc;
A light detection step of receiving reflected light from the first optical disc or reflected light from the second optical disc;
A light separation step for separating the light source emission light and the reflected light;
A first diffraction control step of switching whether to diffract the light emitted from the light source by a first active diffraction section;
A second diffraction control step of switching whether to diffract the reflected light by a second active diffraction unit,
The light detection step includes
A first light-receiving step of receiving light transmitted as zero-order light in the first diffraction control step and further receiving light transmitted as zero-order light in the second diffraction control step;
Light diffracted as + 1st order diffracted light in the first diffraction control step, further transmitted as 0th order light in the second diffraction control step, transmitted as 0th order light in the first diffraction control step, and further subjected to the second diffraction A second light receiving step for selectively receiving light diffracted as + 1st order diffracted light in the control step;
Light diffracted as −1st order diffracted light in the first diffraction control step, further transmitted as 0th order light in the second diffraction control step, transmitted as 0th order light in the first diffraction control step, and further An optical information recording / reproducing method comprising: a third light receiving step for selectively receiving the light diffracted as the first-order diffracted light in the diffraction control step. When the first objective lens and the second objective lens move in the radial direction of the optical disc,
Disposing the first objective lens so that the center of the optical disc is on an extension of a straight line indicating a locus of a focused spot formed in the optical disc by the first objective lens;
The step of disposing the second objective lens so that the center of the optical disc is not on a straight line that indicates a locus of a focused spot formed in the optical disc by the second objective lens. Optical information recording / reproducing method.

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