Method of holographic recording and reproduction, holographic recording medium and holographic recording and reproducing apparatus

• US 20060215528A1
• Filed: 01/24/2006
• Published: 09/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Hirayama, Yuzo, Akiyama, Junichi, Ikeda, Naru, Saishu, Tatsuo, Hirao, Akiko, Honguh, Yoshinori, Matsumoto, Kazuki, Kubota, Yuji
• Granted Patent: US 7,664,001 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 369/103
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 1/22 Processes or apparatus for obtaining an optical image from holograms G03H1/26 - G03H1/34 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 1/2286 Particular reconstruction light G03H1/24 takes precedence; Beam properties
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2222/13 Multi-wavelengths wave with discontinuous wavelength ranges G03H2222/18 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/0065 Recording, reproducing or erasing by using optical interference patterns, e.g. holograms
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/00745 Sectoring or header formats within a track formats in general G11B20/12
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/00781 Auxiliary information, e.g. index marks, address marks, pre-pits, gray codes
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/126 Circuits, methods or arrangements for laser control or stabilisation
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/24 Record carriers characterised by shape, structure or physical properties, or by the selection of the material characterised by the arrangement of information on the carrier G11B7/007
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/24044 for storing optical interference patterns, e.g. holograms; for storing data in three dimensions, e.g. volume storage G11B7/24038 takes precedence

Abstract

A method of holographic recording and reproduction includes recording to the holographic recording medium a wavelength variation reference pattern which is recorded as a hologram at a wavelength of the recording beam, recording to the holographic recording medium a page data pattern as a hologram at the wavelength of the recording beam, detecting the wavelength variation between the recording beam and the reproducing beam based on the size of an image for wavelength variation reference obtained by reproducing the wavelength variation reference pattern at a wavelength of the reproducing beam, and reproducing the page data pattern using the reproducing beam with a wavelength controlled based on the detected wavelength variation.

Claims

1. A method of holographic recording and reproduction, the method comprising:

recording to a holographic recording medium a wavelength variation reference pattern as a hologram at a wavelength of a recording beam, the wavelength variation reference pattern allows to determine a wavelength variation between a recording beam and a reproducing beam based on a size of an image reproduced at a wavelength of the reproducing beam;

recording to the holographic recording medium a page data pattern as a hologram at the wavelength of the recording beam, the recording beam including an information beam carrying information and a reference beam, the information beam and the reference beam being collinear and generated by spatially modulating a light beam;

detecting the wavelength variation between the recording beam and the reproducing beam based on the size of the image for wavelength variation reference obtained by reproducing the wavelength variation reference pattern at the wavelength of the reproducing beam; and

reproducing the page data pattern using the reproducing beam, the reproducing beam including a reference beam with a wavelength controlled based on the detected wavelength variation.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the wavelength variation reference pattern and the page data pattern are individually displayed with a spatial light modulator and are individually recorded to the holographic recording medium as a hologram.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

in recording the wavelength variation reference pattern, irradiating the holographic recording medium with spots arranged around the reference beam using the spatial light modulator to record the spots as a hologram;

in reproduction, irradiating the holographic recording medium with only the reference beam using the spatial light modulator; and

detecting the wavelength variation of the reproducing beam to the recording beam based on the size of the image for wavelength variation reference that is reproduced.

4. A holographic recording medium, comprising:

a substrate having a servo surface; and

a holographic recording layer formed on the substrate, the holographic recording layer comprises a first recording zone for a page data pattern and a second recording zone for a wavelength variation reference pattern.

5. The holographic recording medium according to claim 4, wherein the wavelength variation reference pattern is recorded as a hologram at a wavelength of the recording beam and allows to determine a wavelength variation between the recording beam and the reproducing beam based on a size of an image thereof reproduced at a wavelength of the reproducing beam.

6. The holographic recording medium according to claim 4, comprising a reflection layer, a lower gap layer and a wavelength selection layer stacked on the substrate having the servo surface, and further comprising an upper gap layer and a holographic recording layer with a first thickness which are stacked on the wavelength selection layer in the first recording zone for the page data pattern, and a holographic recording layer with a second thickness greater than the first thickness which is stacked on the wavelength selection layer without the upper gap layer in the second recording zone for the wavelength variation reference pattern.

7. The holographic recording medium according to claim 4, comprising a holographic recording layer with a third thickness in the first recording zone for the page data pattern and a holographic recording layer with a fourth thickness smaller than the third thickness and a step compensation layer in the second recording zone for the wavelength variation reference pattern.

8. The holographic recording medium according to claim 4, comprising a first holographic recording layer with a first refractive index in the first recording zone for the page data pattern and a second holographic recording layer with a second refractive index in the second recording zone for the wavelength variation reference pattern.

9. A holographic recording and reproducing apparatus by which information is recorded as a hologram to a holographic recording medium, comprising:

a light source;

a spatial light modulator spatially modulating intensity and/or phase of an optical beam from the light source to generate an information beam, a reference beam, and spots corresponding to a wavelength variation reference pattern;

an optical system configured to irradiate the holographic recording medium with the reference beam and the spots corresponding to the wavelength variation reference pattern as a recording beam for wavelength variation reference pattern, with the information beam and the reference beam collinearly as a recording beam, and with only the reference beam as a reproducing beam, respectively;

a photo-detector arranged on the same side as the optical system with respect to the holographic recording medium;

a wavelength variation detector detecting a wavelength variation of the reproducing beam to the recording beam based on a size of an image for wavelength variation reference obtained by the photo-detector by irradiating the wavelength variation reference pattern recorded to the holographic recording medium with the reproducing beam; and

a wavelength controller controlling wavelength of the light source based on a detection result by the wavelength variation detector.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the photo-detector comprises pixels arranged in a matrix, and wherein a size of the pixels in a peripheral region of the photo-detector is smaller than a size of the pixels in a central region of the photo-detector.

11. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the photo-detector is also used for wavelength variation detection.

12. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the wavelength controller is arranged between the light source and the optical system, and is configured to allow only the reproducing beam to pass.

13. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the wavelength variation detector comprises a reflection grating arranged in an optical path from the holographic recording medium to the photo-detector.

14. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the wavelength variation detector comprises a mirror arranged in an optical path from the holographic recording medium to the photo-detector.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein a light-receiving surface of the wavelength variation detector is tilted to an optical path of a beam reflected from the mirror.

16. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the light source comprises laser diodes each having an emission wavelength different from one another and provided with electrodes for fine-tuning the emission wavelength, and wherein the wavelength controller selects a specific laser diode of the laser diodes and finely tunes the emission wavelength thereof by supplying a current to the electrodes.

17. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the light source comprises a laser diode provided with a temperature controller and electrodes for fine-tuning the emission wavelength, and wherein the wavelength controller roughly tunes the emission wavelength of the laser diode with the temperature controller and finely tunes the emission wavelength by supplying a current to the electrodes.