Light beam shaping device to change an anisotropic beam to an isotropic beam for reducing the size of an optical head

• US 6,154,433 A
• Filed: 01/15/1997
• Issued: 11/28/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Hoshino, Isao, Wachi, Shoko, Honguh, Yoshinori, Tanaka, Masahiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Swann, Tod R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHU, KIM KWOK
• Application Number:
  US08/782,292
• Time in Patent Office: 1,413 Days
• Field of Search: 369/44.37, 369/103, 369/106, 369/121, 369/112, 369/110, 369/109, 369/54, 369/44.14, 369/44.23
• US Class Current: 369/112.04
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2007/0006 adapted for scanning different types of carrier, e.g. CD & DVD
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2007/13727 Compound lenses, i.e. two or more lenses co-operating to perform a function, e.g. compound objective lens including a solid immersion lens, positive and negative lenses either bonded together or with adjustable spacing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/0912 by push-pull method
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/123 Integrated head arrangements, e.g. with source and detectors mounted on the same substrate
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/1353 Diffractive elements, e.g. holograms or gratings diffraction gratings per se G02B5/18; holograms per se G02B5/32; grating systems G02B27/44
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/1356 Double or multiple prisms, i.e. having two or more prisms in cooperation
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/1359 Single prisms
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/1398 Means for shaping the cross-section of the beam, e.g. into circular or elliptical cross-section

Abstract

An optical head device adapted to be optically coupled to an optical disk includes a light-source laser and an objective lens optically coupled thereto. This lens receives an output light of the light source, and causes it to be projected onto the optical disk to form a focused spot thereon. Photodetectors are optically coupled to the lens in one optical path so that they are responsive to a light component which is reflected from the optical disk toward the photodetectors by way of the objective lens. A beam-shaping prism is located between the lens and a group of the light source and the photodetectors in the optical path. When the laser output light travels toward the lens, the prism reshapes the light into a predetermined isotropic beam profile. When the reflected light from the optical disk propagates reversely along the same optical path to enter the beam-shaping prism, this prism permits such an incident light to pass through itself toward the photodetectors.

Claims

1. An optical head device adapted to be optically coupled to an optical disk, said device comprising:

a first light source for emitting a first light beam;

a second light source for emitting a second light beam;

an objective lens for converging the first and second light beams to an optical disk and receiving a reflected light beam from said optical disk;

a beam splitting means for splitting the reflected light beam into a first reflected light beam corresponding to said first light beam and a second reflected light beam corresponding to said second light beam;

a first photodetector for detecting the first reflected light beam;

a second photodetector for detecting the second reflected light beam; and

an aperture limiter for blocking at least one of a stray light component included in the first reflected light beam to be detected by said first photodetector and a stray light component included in the second reflected light beam to be detected by said second photodetector.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein said first and second light sources, said objective lens, said beam splitting means, and said first and second photodetectors are formed as one optical unit.

3. The device according to claim 2, wherein said optical unit is movable at least in a focusing direction.

4. The device according to claim 1,

wherein said aperture limiter comprises an aperture positioned between at least one of said first and second light sources and said objective lens, for restricting a diameter of the light beam.

5. The device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a first diffraction type optical element for diffracting the first reflected light beam directing to said first photodetector; and

a second diffraction type optical element for diffracting the second reflected light beam directing to said second photodetector.

6. The device according to claim 1, wherein optical disks having a different thickness can be used.

7. An optical head device adapted to be optically coupled to an optical disk, comprising:

a first light source for emitting a first light beam;

a first photodetector for detecting a first reflected light beam corresponding to the first light beam from said optical disk;

a second light source for emitting a second light beam;

a second photodetector for detecting a second reflected light beam corresponding to the second light beam from said optical disk;

an objective lens for converging the light beams on said optical disk and receiving a reflected light beam from said optical disk;

first beam splitting means for leading the first reflected light beam to the first photodetector;

second beam splitting means for leading the second reflected light beam to the second photodetector; and

third beam splitting means for receiving the first and second light beams from the first and second light sources and sending the light beam obtained thereby to the objective lens, and for splitting the reflected light beam from the objective lens into the first and second reflected light beams and sending the first and second reflected light beams to the first and second beam splitting means; and

an aperture limiter for blocking at least one of a stray light component included in the first reflected light beam to be detected by said first photodetector and a stray light component included in the second reflected light beam to be detected by said second photodetector.

8. The device according to claim 7, wherein the first and second light sources, the first and second photodetectors, the objective lens, the first, second and third beam splitting means are formed as one optical unit.

9. The device according to claim 8, wherein said optical unit is movable at least in a focusing direction.

10. The device according to claim 7, wherein the first and second beam splitting means each comprise a diffraction type optical element.

11. The device according to claim 7, further comprising:

an aperture plate having an aperture for restricting a diameter of the light beam when the light beam emitted at least one of the first and second light sources enters the objective lens.

12. The device according to claim 7, wherein the optical disks have a different thicknesses.

13. An optical head device adapted to be optically coupled to optical disks, comprising:

a first light source for emitting a first light beam;

a first photodetector for detecting a first reflected light beam corresponding to the first light beam from each optical disk;

a second light source for emitting a second light beam, the second light source arranged at a position so that waveform aberration which occurs in a difference of the optical disks is cancelled by spherical aberration which takes place due to a variation in a light-source position;

a second photodetector for detecting a second reflected light beam corresponding to the second light beam from each optical disk;

an objective lens for converging the light beams to said optical disk and receiving a reflected light beam from said optical disk;

first beam splitting means for leading the first reflected light to the first photodetector;

second beam splitting means for leading the second reflected light beam to the second photodetector; and

an optical element provided for receiving the first and second light beams from the first and second light sources and sending the light beams obtained thereby to the objective lens, and for splitting the reflected light beam from the objective lens into the first and second reflected light beams and sending the first and second reflected light beams to the first and second beam splitting means respectively, and;

an aperture limiter for blocking at least one of a stray light component included in the first reflected light beam to be detected by said first photodetector and a stray light component included in the second reflected light beam to be detected by said second photodetector.

14. The device according to claim 13, wherein the optical disks have different thicknesses.

15. The device according to claim 13, wherein the second light beam has a wavelength longer than a wavelength of the first light beam, and the second light source is arranged at a position nearer than a position of the first light source with the objective lens and the optical element.

16. The device according to claim 13, wherein the first and second light sources emit non-collimated light to the objective lens.

17. The device according to claim 13, wherein the first and second light sources, the first and second photodetectors, the objective lens and the optical element are formed as one optical unit.

18. The device according to claim 17, wherein said optical unit is movable at least in a focusing direction.

19. The device according to claim 13, further comprising:

an aperture plate having an aperture for restricting a diameter of the light beam when the light beam emitted from at least one of the first and second light sources enters the objective lens.