Apparatus and method for detecting beam power in optical drive

Abstract

An apparatus and method for detecting beam power generated by a plurality of light sources, using a single device. The apparatus includes a light-receiving unit that receives the beam power generated by one of a plurality of light sources, and an amplifying unit that selects a gain, amplifies the beam power received by the light-receiving unit according to the selected gain, and outputs the beam power amplified as a detected beam power. According to the apparatus and method, received beam power (or amplification gain) is amplified by a gain determined according to the characteristics of the respective light sources. Thus, it is possible to provide the detected beam power in consideration of a sufficient dynamic range for the each light source, thereby realizing effective APC.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.