Back to results
US 6,473,385 B1Granted
Optical head, and optical recording and/or reproducing apparatus
AssigneeSony Corporation
InventorKimihiro Saito
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In an optical head using a solid immersion lens as an objective, there is disposed in the optical path of a return light an optically anisotropic optical element formed not flat at at least one side thereof. The optical element is provided to compensate an uneven distribution of polarized light included in the return light from a recording medium.
Claims10
An optical head, comprising:
- a solid immersion lens supported opposite to a recording medium with a space between them, the space being smaller than the wavelength of a light used for write and/or read of a signal to and/or from the recording medium, an evanescent light from the end face of the solid immersion lens being used for write and/or read of a signal to and/or from the recording medium;
- and
- an optically anisotropic optical element formed with at least one nonplanar side, and disposed in the optical path of the light used for write and/or read of a signal to and/or from the recording medium.
An optical recording and/or reproducing apparatus using an optical head for write and/or read of a signal to and/or from a recording medium, the optical head comprising:
- a solid immersion lens supported opposite to a recording medium with a space between them, the space being smaller than the wavelength of a light used for write and/or read of a signal to and/or from the recording medium, an evanescent light from the end face of the solid immersion lens being used for write and/or read of a signal to and/or from the recording medium;
- and
- an optically anisotropic optical element formed with at least one nonplanar side, and disposed in the optical path of the light used for write and/or read of a signal to and/or from the recording medium.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.