U.S. patent application number 11/709737 was filed with the patent office on 2007-07-26 for optical pickup device having chromatic aberration correction lens.
This patent application is currently assigned to Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Young-man Ahn, Chong-sam Chung, Tae-kyung Kim, Hea-jung Suh.
Application Number | 20070171803 11/709737 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 19689736 |
Filed Date | 2007-07-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070171803 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kim; Tae-kyung ; et
al. |
July 26, 2007 |
Optical pickup device having chromatic aberration correction
lens
Abstract
An optical pickup device includes a light source to emit light,
an objective lens to focus the light on a recording medium to form
a light spot, an optical path changer on an optical path between
the light source and the objective lens to change the path of
incident light, a chromatic aberration correction lens disposed on
an optical path between the light source and the objective lens,
and a photodetector to receive light which is reflected from the
recording medium and is then incident thereon through the optical
path changer. The chromatic aberration correction lens corrects a
chromatic aberration occurring due to a change in the wavelength
and/or due to an increase in a wavelength bandwidth of the light.
The chromatic aberration correction lens includes at least two
lenses such that a lens having a positive power and a lens having a
negative power are adjacent to each other.
Inventors: |
Kim; Tae-kyung; (Seoul,
KR) ; Ahn; Young-man; (Suwon-si, KR) ; Chung;
Chong-sam; (Suwon-si, KR) ; Suh; Hea-jung;
(Seongnam-si, KR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
STEIN, MCEWEN & BUI, LLP
1400 EYE STREET, NW
SUITE 300
WASHINGTON
DC
20005
US
|
Assignee: |
Samsung Electronics Co.,
Ltd.
Suwon-si
KR
|
Family ID: |
19689736 |
Appl. No.: |
11/709737 |
Filed: |
February 23, 2007 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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|
11097287 |
Apr 4, 2005 |
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11709737 |
Feb 23, 2007 |
|
|
|
09883492 |
Jun 19, 2001 |
6987724 |
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11097287 |
Apr 4, 2005 |
|
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|
Current U.S.
Class: |
369/112.23 ;
G9B/7.123; G9B/7.129 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G02B 27/0025 20130101;
G11B 2007/13727 20130101; G11B 7/13922 20130101; G11B 7/1378
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
369/112.23 |
International
Class: |
G11B 7/00 20060101
G11B007/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 21, 2000 |
KR |
2000-55477 |
Claims
1. A single objective lens for an optical pickup device, the single
objective lens having a numerical aperture (NA) of 0.85 or more,
wherein both lens surfaces of the single objective lens are
aspherical.
2. The single objective lens of claim 1, wherein the numerical
aperture (NA) is equal to or greater than 0.85 with respect to
light having a wavelength of 420 nm or less.
3. The single objective lens of claim 1, wherein the numerical
aperture (NA) is 0.85.
4. The single objective lens of claim 3, wherein depths z from
aspherical vertices of the both lens surfaces are respectively
expressed by Equation 1: z = c .times. .times. h 2 1 + 1 - ( 1 + K
) .times. c 2 .times. h 2 + A .times. .times. h 4 + B .times.
.times. h 6 + C .times. .times. h 8 + D .times. .times. h 10 + E
.times. .times. h 12 + F .times. .times. h 14 + G .times. .times. h
16 + H .times. .times. h 18 + J .times. .times. h 20 , ( 2 )
##EQU14## where h is a height from an optical axis, c is a
curvature, K is a conic coefficient, and A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H,
and J are aspherical coefficients.
5. The single objective lens of claim 1, wherein depths z from
aspherical vertices of the both lens surfaces are respectively
expressed by Equation 1: z = c .times. .times. h 2 1 + 1 - ( 1 + K
) .times. c 2 .times. h 2 + A .times. .times. h 4 + B .times.
.times. h 6 + C .times. .times. h 8 + D .times. .times. h 10 + E
.times. .times. h 12 + F .times. .times. h 14 + G .times. .times. h
16 + H .times. .times. h 18 + J .times. .times. h 20 , ( 2 )
##EQU15## where h is a height from an optical axis, c is a
curvature, K is a conic coefficient, and A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H,
and J are aspherical coefficients.
6. The single objective lens of claim 3, wherein the single
objective lens is formed of glass or plastics.
7. The single objective lens of claim 1, wherein the single
objective lens is formed of glass or plastics.
8. An optical pickup device comprising the single objective lens of
claim 1.
9. The optical pickup device of claim 8, wherein the numerical
aperture (NA) of the single objective lens is equal to or greater
than 0.85 with respect to light having a wavelength of 420 nm or
less.
10. The optical pickup device of claim 8, wherein the numerical
aperture (NA) of the single objective lens is 0.85.
11. The optical pickup device of claim 10, further comprising a
light source for emitting light having a wavelength of 420 nm or
less.
12. The optical pickup device of claim 8, wherein depths z from
aspherical vertices of the both lens surfaces of the single
objective lens are respectively expressed by Equation 1 z = c
.times. .times. h 2 1 + 1 - ( 1 + K ) .times. c 2 .times. h 2 + A
.times. .times. h 4 + B .times. .times. h 6 + C .times. .times. h 8
+ D .times. .times. h 10 + E .times. .times. h 12 + F .times.
.times. h 14 + G .times. .times. h 16 + H .times. .times. h 18 + J
.times. .times. h 20 , ( 2 ) ##EQU16## where h is a height from an
optical axis, c is a curvature, K is a conic coefficient, and A, B,
C, D, E, F, G, H, and J are aspherical coefficients.
13. The optical pickup device of claim 8, wherein the single
objective lens is formed of glass or plastics.
14. The optical pickup device of claim 8, further comprising a
light source for emitting light having a wavelength of 420 nm or
less.
15. An optical recording/reproducing device comprising the optical
pickup device of claim 8.
16. The optical recording/reproducing device of claim 15, wherein
the numerical aperture (NA) of the single objective lens is equal
to or greater than 0.85 with respect to light having a wavelength
of 420 nm or less.
17. The optical recording/reproducing device of claim 15, wherein
the numerical aperture (NA) of the single objective lens is
0.85.
18. The optical recording/reproducing device of claim 15, wherein
depths z from aspherical vertices of the both lens surfaces of the
single objective lens are respectively expressed by Equation 1: z =
c .times. .times. h 2 1 + 1 - ( 1 + K ) .times. c 2 .times. h 2 + A
.times. .times. h 4 + B .times. .times. h 6 + C .times. .times. h 8
+ D .times. .times. h 10 + E .times. .times. h 12 + F .times.
.times. h 14 + G .times. .times. h 16 + H .times. .times. h 18 + J
.times. .times. h 20 , ( 2 ) ##EQU17## where h is a height from an
optical axis, c is a curvature, K is a conic coefficient, and A, B,
C, D, E, F, G, H, and J are aspherical coefficients.
19. The optical recording/reproducing device of claim 15, wherein
the single objective lens is formed of glass or plastics.
20. The optical recording/reproducing device of claim 15, wherein
the optical pickup device further comprises a light source for
emitting light having a wavelength of 420 nm or less.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 11/097,287, filed Apr. 4, 2005, now pending,
which is the divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser.
No. 09/883,492, filed Jun. 19, 2001, now issued as U.S. Pat. No.
6,987,724, which claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application
No. 2000-55477, filed Sep. 21, 2000, in the Korean Industrial
Property Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein
by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to an optical pickup device,
and more particularly, to an optical pickup device having a
chromatic aberration correction lens to correct a chromatic
aberration caused by a change in a wavelength and/or an increase in
a wavelength bandwidth of light emitted from a light source,
occurring when changing a recording/reproducing power output.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] The recording capacity of an optical recording and
reproducing apparatus is determined by the size S of a light spot
formed on an optical disc by the objective lens of an optical
pickup device. Generally, the size S of the light spot is
proportional to a wavelength .lamda. and is inversely proportional
to a numerical aperture (NA). Accordingly, to obtain a higher
information recording density than that obtained on conventional
optical discs such as CDs or DVDs, an optical pickup device
(hereinafter, referred to as a high density optical pickup device)
used for next generation DVDs (hereinafter, referred to as HD-DVDs)
under development is anticipated to use a light source emitting
blue light and an objective lens having a NA of at least 0.6, to
reduce the size of the light spot formed on the optical disc.
[0006] However, an optical material such as glass or plastic used
as the material of the objective lens in the conventional optical
pickup device has a very steep change in refractivity in a
wavelength band shorter than 650 nm. Table 1 shows changes in
refractivity of M-BaCD5N, which is manufactured by Hoya and is used
as a glass material for molding the objective lens, according to a
wavelength. TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Change in refractivity of M-
BaCD5N glass manufactured by Change in wavelength Hoya 650 nm
.fwdarw. 651 nm 0.000038 405 nm .fwdarw. 406 nm 0.000154
[0007] As seen from Table 1, an optical material has a change in
refractivity with respect to a small wavelength change of about 1
nm in a short blue wavelength band, for example, a 405 nm
wavelength band, four times larger than in a 650 nm wavelength used
in a conventional DVD optical pickup device. Such a steep change in
refractivity of the optical material with respect to blue light
causes a high density optical recording and reproducing apparatus
using a blue light source to be defocused, thereby degrading
performance.
[0008] In other words, an optical recording and reproducing
apparatus uses different recording light power and reproducing
light power. This change in the light output power between
recording and reproduction causes the wavelength change. For
example, in the case of the blue light source, the change in the
wavelength is about 0.5-1 nm. Usually, when the output of the light
source increases, the wavelength of light emitted from the light
source is longer. Accordingly, the high density optical pickup
device using blue light has a large chromatic aberration in the
objective lens designed for a reference wavelength due to the
change in the wavelength during switching between recording light
output power and reproducing light output power, causing
defocus.
[0009] For example, as shown in FIGS. 1 through 3, an objective
lens, which has a numerical aperture of 0.65 and is designed for a
wavelength of 405 nm, has a large wavefront aberration (also
referred to as an optical path difference (OPD)) and defocus with
respect to a fine change of about 1 nm in wavelength. FIG. 1 is a
graph illustrating intensities of light spots formed on an optical
disc according to defocus resulting from a change in light output
power between recording and reproduction. FIGS. 2 and 3 are graphs
illustrating the amount of the OPD and the amount of defocus,
respectively, of the objective lens having a numerical aperture of
0.65, according to the change in the wavelength.
[0010] Although defocus caused by the change in the wavelength can
be corrected by adjusting the objective lens, it takes a relatively
long time to actuate the objective lens using an actuator and to
follow the change in the wavelength, and during this time, the
quality of a recorded or reproduced signal is degraded. Defocus
occurring when output power increases for recording results in a
lack of recording light power, and defocus occurring when output
power decreases for reproduction increases jitter.
[0011] In other words, when the output power of the light source
increases when recording information on the optical disc, the
wavelength of light emitted from the light source is relatively
long, for example, 406 nm, so that the light spot formed on the
optical disc is defocused. Until the actuator is adjusted in
response to the defocus, recording cannot be performed. Then, when
the output power of the light source decreases for reproduction,
the wavelength of light emitted from the light source is relatively
short, for example, 405 nm. Since the actuator has been adjusted
with respect to the lengthened wavelength, the light spot is
defocused again. As shown in FIG. 4, the jitter increases in the
reproduced signal due to defocus. FIG. 4 is a graph illustrating
the amount of jitter in the reproduced signal according to the
amount of defocus when the objective lens designed with respect to
a reference wavelength of 405 nm and having a numerical aperture of
0.65 is used.
[0012] Moreover, when the light source is actuated at a high
frequency (HF) to reduce feedback noise of the light source due to
light reflected from the optical disc to the light source, a
wavelength bandwidth of the light source increases, resulting in
chromatic aberration, and this chromatic aberration degrades the
reproduced signal.
[0013] Accordingly, a high density recordable optical pickup device
capable of recording and reproducing repeatedly is required to have
an optical system capable of suppressing or correcting chromatic
aberration resulting from a change in the wavelength of light
emitted from the light source due to the change in output power
between recording and reproduction. Japanese Patent Publication No.
hei 9-311271 discloses a structure employing a
refraction/diffraction-monolithic-type objective lens to correct
chromatic aberration resulting from a change in wavelength. A
conventional refraction/diffraction-monolithic-type objective lens
is an aspheric lens whose surface receiving or emitting light is
aspheric. Diffraction patterns are integrally formed on this
aspheric surface so that a refractive lens and a diffraction lens
are integrated into a single lens.
[0014] The refraction/diffraction-monolithic-type objective lens is
designed to satisfy (1+V.sub.HOE/V)(n.sub.2-1)>0.572 when it is
assumed that refractivities of the lens at a central wavelength
.lamda.1, a minimum wavelength .lamda..sub.2 and a maximum
wavelength .lamda..sub.3 of light emitted from a semiconductor
laser are n.sub.1, n.sub.2 and n.sub.3, and that the Abbe numbers
of the refractive lens and the diffraction lens are
V=(n.sub.2-1)/(n.sub.1-n.sub.3) and
V.sub.HOE=.lamda..sub.2(.lamda..sub.1-.lamda..sub.3), respectively.
Accordingly, the conventional
refraction/diffraction-monolithic-type objective lens has a
numerical aperture of at least 0.7 and can remove chromatic
aberration due to the change in the wavelength of light emitted
from the semiconductor laser. However, an optical pickup device
employing the conventional refraction/diffraction-monolithic-type
objective lens cannot obtain sufficient output power necessary for
recording since optical efficiency is lowered to about 70-85% due
to the properties of the diffraction lens.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0015] Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to
provide an optical pickup device to correct a chromatic aberration
of an objective lens with an additional chromatic aberration
correction lens having a relatively infinite focal length as
compared to a focal length of the objective lens.
[0016] It is a further object of the invention to provide an
optical pickup device to overcome the above-mentioned problems.
[0017] Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will
be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part,
will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice
of the invention.
[0018] The foregoing objects of the present invention are achieved
by providing an optical pickup device including a light source to
emit light; an objective lens to focus light incident from the
light source on a recording medium to form a light spot; an optical
path changer disposed on an optical path between the light source
and the objective lens, the optical path changer to change the path
of light incident from the recording medium; a chromatic aberration
correction lens disposed on the optical path between the light
source and the objective lens, the chromatic aberration correction
lens to correct a chromatic aberration occurring due to a change in
a wavelength and/or due to an increase in a wavelength bandwidth of
the light emitted from the light source, the chromatic aberration
correction lens including a lens having a positive power and a lens
having a negative power adjacent to each other, a total focal
length of the chromatic aberration correction lens being relatively
infinite relative to the objective lens; and a photodetector to
receive light incident from the optical path changer.
[0019] The chromatic aberration correction lens has a focal length
of at least 10 m. Furthermore, the Abbe number of an optical
material of which the lens having the positive power is formed, at
a d-line, is larger than that of an optical material of which the
lens having the negative power is formed, at the d-line.
[0020] In one embodiment, the chromatic aberration correction lens
includes a first lens having a negative power and a second lens
having a positive power, which are sequentially disposed from the
light source, and the first and second lenses have similar power.
Here, the first and second lenses are formed of glass materials,
which have different Abbe numbers at a d-line and similar
refractivities. The surfaces of the first and second lenses facing
the light source and the objective lens, respectively, have
relatively large negative radii of curvature, and the surface
between the first and second lenses has a relatively small positive
radius of curvature.
[0021] In another embodiment, the chromatic aberration correction
lens includes a first lens having a positive power and a second
lens having a negative power, which are sequentially disposed from
the light source, the surfaces of the first and second lenses
facing the light source and the objective lens, respectively, have
positive radii of curvature, the surface between the first and
second lenses has a negative radius of curvature, and all the
surfaces have similar magnitudes of radii of curvature.
[0022] In still another embodiment, the chromatic aberration
correction lens includes a first lens having a negative power, a
second lens having a positive power and a third lens having a
negative power, which are sequentially disposed from the light
source. The first and third lenses are formed of glass materials,
respectively, which have similar Abbe numbers at a d-line, and the
second lens is formed of a glass material having an Abbe number
relatively different from those of the glass materials of the first
and third lenses. The surfaces of the first and third lenses facing
the light source and the objective lens, respectively, have
positive radii of curvature, the surface between the first and
second lenses has a positive radius of curvature, and the surface
between the second and third lenses has a negative radius of
curvature.
[0023] Here, preferably, the chromatic aberration correction lens
is designed to satisfy 0.95#h.sub.o/h.sub.i#1.05, wherein a height
of the light incident on the chromatic aberration correction lens
is h.sub.i, and the height of light coming out through the
chromatic aberration correction lens is h.sub.o. The chromatic
aberration correction lens is designed to satisfy
0<1/(f1v1)+1/(f2v2)+ . . . +1/(fnvn)<0.008, wherein the focal
lengths of lenses constituting the chromatic aberration correction
lens and the objective lens with respect to the light source are
f1, f2, . . . and fn, and the Abbe numbers of optical materials
forming the lenses at a d-line are v1, v2, . . . and vn.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0024] These and/or other aspects and advantages of the invention
will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the
following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with
the accompanying drawings of which:
[0025] FIG. 1 is a graph illustrating the intensities of light
spots formed on an optical disc according to defocus resulting from
a change in light output power between recording and
reproduction;
[0026] FIGS. 2 and 3 are graphs illustrating the amount of the
wavefront aberrations (or optical path difference (OPD)) and the
amount of defocus, respectively, of an objective lens having a
numerical aperture of 0.65, according to a change in a
wavelength;
[0027] FIG. 4 is a graph illustrating the amount of jitter in a
reproduced signal according to the amount of defocus when an
objective lens designed with respect to a reference wavelength of
405 nm and having a numerical aperture of 0.65 is used;
[0028] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the optical
configuration of a high density optical pickup device according to
an embodiment of the present invention;
[0029] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating the structure of
an objective lens having a numerical aperture of 0.75 with respect
to a reference wavelength of 405 nm and the main optical paths
thereof, when a chromatic aberration correction lens according to
the present invention is not used;
[0030] FIG. 7 is a graph illustrating aberrations of the objective
lens of FIG. 6;
[0031] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating the main portions
and optical paths of an optical pickup device to which a chromatic
aberration correction lens according to a first embodiment of the
present invention is applied;
[0032] FIG. 9 is a graph illustrating aberrations of an objective
lens in the optical pickup device of FIG. 8;
[0033] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating the main
portions and optical paths of an optical pickup device to which a
chromatic aberration correction lens according to a second
embodiment of the present invention is applied;
[0034] FIG. 11 is a graph illustrating aberrations of an objective
lens in the optical pickup device of FIG. 10;
[0035] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating the main
portions and optical paths of an optical pickup device to which a
chromatic aberration correction lens according to a third
embodiment of the present invention is applied;
[0036] FIG. 13 is a graph illustrating aberrations of an objective
lens in the optical pickup device of FIG. 12;
[0037] FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating the main
portions and optical paths of an optical pickup device to which a
chromatic aberration correction lens according to a fourth
embodiment of the present invention is applied; and
[0038] FIG. 15 is a graph illustrating aberrations of an objective
lens in the optical pickup device of FIG. 14.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0039] Reference will now be made in detail to the present
embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are
illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference
numerals refer to the like elements throughout. The embodiments are
described below in order to explain the present invention by
referring to the figures.
[0040] Referring to FIG. 5, an optical pickup device 105 according
to an embodiment of the present invention includes a light source
10, an optical path changing unit 100 to change an optical path of
incident light, an objective lens 60 to focus incident light from
the light source 10 on a high density recording medium 1 to form a
light spot (not shown) thereon, a photodetector 90 to receive
incident light, which is reflected from the recording medium 1 and
passes through the optical path changing unit 100, and a chromatic
aberration correction lens 40 to correct a chromatic aberration due
to a change in a wavelength of the light emitted from the light
source 10 and an increase in a wavelength bandwidth.
[0041] A blue semiconductor laser emitting light of a wavelength of
at most 420 nm, for example, a wavelength of 405 nm is used as the
light source 10. The semiconductor laser may be either an edge
emitting laser or a vertical cavity surface emitting laser. Here,
when the light source 10 emits light having a wavelength of 405 nm
at reproduction power, the light source 10 emits light having a
wavelength which is longer than the wavelength at the reproduction
power, for example, a wavelength of 406 nm, at recording power. Due
to such a change in the wavelength resulting from a change in light
output power and/or an increase in the wavelength caused by driving
the light source 10 with high frequency (HF), a chromatic
aberration occurs in the objective lens 60. This chromatic
aberration is corrected by the chromatic aberration correction lens
40 according to the present invention as will be described
later.
[0042] The optical path changing unit 100 is disposed between the
light source 10 and the objective lens 60 to change the path of
incident light. As shown in FIG. 5, the optical path changing unit
100 preferably includes a polarizing beam splitter 50 to
selectively transmit or reflect incident light according to a
polarization characteristic of the incident light, and a quarter
wavelength plate 55 to change the polarization of the incident
light. Here, a beam splitter (not shown), which transmits and
reflects incident light at a predetermined ratio, can be used as
the optical path changing unit 100.
[0043] The objective lens 60 has a numerical aperture of at least
0.65, for example, 0.75 or 0.85, so that it can form the light spot
on the high density recording medium 1, which may be an HD-DVD to
record and reproduce information. Here, the objective lens 60 may
have a numerical aperture of at least 0.85 when it is composed of a
plurality of lenses or is of a solid immersion type. The
photodetector 90 receives light reflected from the recording medium
1 and detects an information signal and an error signal.
[0044] A collimating lens 20 is disposed on the optical path
between the light source 10 and the chromatic aberration correction
lens 40. The collimating lens 20 condenses diverging light emitted
from the light source 10 to be parallel. As shown in FIG. 5, when
the collimating lens 20 is disposed on the optical path between the
light source 10 and the optical path changing unit 100, a
condensing lens 70 is also disposed between the optical path
changing unit 100 and the photodetector 90.
[0045] When an edge emitting laser is used as the light source 10,
a beam shaping prism 30 is disposed on the optical path between the
collimating lens 20 and the optical path changing unit 100 so that
recording of information is possible even with low power. Although
not shown in FIG. 5, the beam shaping prism 30 shapes an
elliptical-like beam emitted from the edge emitting laser into a
circular-like beam. The beam shaping prism 30 may alternately be
disposed between the light source 10 and the collimating lens 20.
As another alternative, when a surface emitting laser emitting a
substantially circular-like beam is used as the light source 10,
the beam shaping prism 30 can be removed from the pickup device 105
of FIG. 5.
[0046] Here, reference numeral 80 denotes a sensing lens 80. For
example, when a focus error signal is detected by an astigmatism
method, the sensing lens 80 is an astigmatism lens to include an
astigmatism into the incident light.
[0047] The chromatic aberration correction lens 40 according to the
present invention comprises at least two lenses such that a lens
having a positive power and a lens having a negative power are
disposed to be adjacent to each other. Here, the Abbe number of an
optical material, of which the lens having the positive power is
formed, at a d-line, exceeds that of an optical material, of which
the lens having the negative power is formed, at the d-line.
[0048] When the focal lengths of the lenses with respect to the
light source 10 are f1, f2, . . . , and the Abbe numbers of the
optical materials forming the lenses at the d-line are v1, v2, . .
. , a condition to correct the chromatic aberration is usually
expressed by i .times. 1 fi vi = 0. ##EQU1## Considering this
condition, the chromatic aberration correction lens 40 according to
the present invention is designed, as will be described later in
detailed embodiments, such that it satisfies the condition that i
.times. 1 fi vi ##EQU2## is approximately 0, that is, it satisfies
the range given by Equation (1) thereby effectively correcting the
chromatic aberration of the objective lens 60. 0 < i .times. 1
fi vi < 0.008 ( 1 ) ##EQU3##
[0049] When the optical pickup device 105 according to the present
invention includes the collimating lens 20, as shown in FIG. 5, so
that parallel light is incident on the chromatic aberration
correction lens 40, lenses contributing to i .times. 1 fi vi
##EQU4## indicating the correction degree of the chromatic
aberration are the chromatic aberration correction lens 40 and the
objective lens 60.
[0050] The chromatic aberration correction lens 40 according to the
present invention as described above has a relatively infinite
focal length, for example, a focal length of at least 10 m, as
compared with the objective lens 60, so that it has optical power
close to 0.
[0051] Hereinafter, detailed embodiments of the chromatic
aberration correction lens 40 according to the present invention
and the optical design data for the objective lens 60 and the
chromatic aberration correction lens 40 will be described in
detail. In the following embodiments, an optical pickup device
according to the present invention includes the collimating lens 20
so that parallel light is incident on the chromatic aberration
correction lens 40 or on the objective lens 60, and optical data
suitable for a reference wavelength of 405 nm is used as an
example.
[0052] First, in the case where the chromatic aberration correction
lens 40 according to the present invention is not used, the degree
of aberration occurring in the objective lens 60 is observed when
the wavelength of light emitted from the light source 10 changes
from the reference wavelength of 405 nm into a wavelength of 406
nm. When the objective lens 60 has a numerical aperture of 0.75
with respect to the reference wavelength of 405 nm, referring to
FIG. 6 and Table 2, the objective lens 60 is realized as a
bi-convex lens whose both surfaces are aspheric so that the
objective lens 60 focuses incident parallel light on the recording
medium 1 having a thickness of 0.6 mm to form a light spot thereon.
TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Radius of Gap or Material Abbe number
Element curvature (mm) thickness (mm) (glass) Refractivity at the
d-line Objective 2.012300 1.700000 `OG` 1.623855 57.8 lens 60
(aspheric surface 1) -18.075156 1.656000 (aspheric surface 2)
Recording .infin. 0.600000 `CG` 1.621462 31.0 medium 1
[0053] Table 3 shows the conic constants and aspheric coefficients
of the aspheric surfaces 1 and 2 of the objective lens 60.
TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Conic constants (K) Aspheric coefficients
Aspheric -0.928355 A: 0.737867E-02 B: 0.515008E-03 C: 0.109070E-03
surface 1 D: -0.961470E-04 E: 0.755098E-04 F: -0.342032E-04 G:
0.921692E-05 H: -0.137595E-05 J: 0.843459E-07 Aspheric -135.791497
A: 0.864934E-02 B: -0.203022E-02 C: 0.375653E-03 surface 2 D:
-0.431759E-04 E: -0.337619E-05 F: -0.123502E-06 G: 0.142911E-06 H:
0.433818E-07 J: -0.410333E-08
[0054] Here, when a depth from the apex of an aspheric surface is
represented by "z", the depth z can be expressed by Equation (2). z
= c .times. .times. h 2 1 + 1 - ( 1 + K ) .times. c 2 .times. h 2 +
A .times. .times. h 4 + B .times. .times. h 6 + C .times. .times. h
8 + D .times. .times. h 10 + E .times. .times. h 12 + F .times.
.times. h 14 + G .times. .times. h 16 + H .times. .times. h 18 + J
.times. .times. h 20 ( 2 ) ##EQU5## Here, h is a height from an
optical axis, c is a curvature, K is a conic coefficient, and A
through J are aspheric coefficients.
[0055] The diameter of an incident pupil of parallel light on the
objective lens 60 configured as described above is 3.9 mm, and the
focal length of the objective lens 60 is about 3.0000 mm.
[0056] FIG. 7 shows the degrees of aberration of the objective lens
60 of FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 7, a large aberration occurs in the
objective lens 60 when the wavelength of light emitted from the
light source 10 changes from 405 nm, i.e., the reference
wavelength, to 406 nm. However, aberration occurring in the
objective lens 60 is removed by a chromatic aberration correction
lens 40, 140 or 240 installed to the side of the incident pupil of
the objective lens 60, according to the present invention, as
described below.
[0057] FIGS. 8, 10 and 12 show the chromatic aberration correction
lenses 40, 140 and 240 according to embodiments of the present
invention, which are installed to the side of the incident pupil of
the objective lens 60 described with reference to FIG. 6. Tables 4
through 6 show the optical design data of the chromatic aberration
correction lenses 40, 140 and 240 and the objective lens 60. In
Tables 4 through 6, the objective lens 60 has a numerical aperture
of 0.75 with respect to the reference wavelength of 405 nm, and the
optical design data thereof is the same as shown in Table 2. In
addition, the conic constants and aspheric coefficients of the
aspheric surfaces 1 and 2 of the objective lens 60 are the same as
those shown in Table 3, and the focal length thereof is 3.000 mm.
Each of the chromatic aberration correction lenses 40, 140 and 240
according to the embodiments of the present invention is configured
such that at least two lenses having opposite powers are adjacent
to each other. Among the at least two lenses, a lens having a
positive power is formed of an optical material whose Abbe number
at the d-line is larger than that of a material of which a lens
having a negative power is formed.
[0058] Referring to FIG. 8 and Table 4, the chromatic aberration
correction lens 40 according to a first embodiment of the present
invention is comprised of a first lens 41 having a negative power
and a second lens 45 having a positive power, which are
sequentially disposed from the light source 10. The first and
second lenses 41 and 45 have almost the same power magnitude. As
shown in Table 4, the first and second lenses 41 and 45 are formed
of glass materials having similar refractivities and different Abbe
numbers at the d-line. The surfaces S1, S3 of the first and second
lenses 41 and 45 facing the light source 10 and the objective lens
60, respectively, have relatively large radii of curvature, and the
contact surface S2 between the first and second lenses 41 and 45
has a smaller radius of curvature. TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 Radius of
Abbe curvature Thickness/ number at Element Surfaces (mm) gap (mm)
Material Refractivity the d-line Chromatic S1 -51.340719 1.000000
EFD15 1.741876 30.1 aberration S2 3.000000 2.300000 LAF3 1.742841
48.0 correction S3 -53.981665 10.00000 lens 40 Objective S4
(aspheric surface 1) 2.012300 1.700000 `OG` 1.623855 57.8 lens 60
S5 (aspheric surface 2) -18.075156 1.656000 Recording S6 .infin.
0.600000 `CG` 1.621462 31.0 medium 1
[0059] In the chromatic aberration correction lens 40 having the
above structure according to the first embodiment of the present
invention, the focal length of the first lens 41 is -3.790843 mm,
the focal length of the second lens 45 is 3.892900 mm, and the
total focal length of the chromatic aberration correction lens 40
is about 171.985311426 m. The incident pupil diameter of the
objective lens 60 is 3.9 mm. According to the chromatic aberration
correction lens 40 and the objective lens 60 having the optical
design data shown in Table 4, i .times. 1 fi vi ##EQU6##
approximates to 0, that is, i .times. 1 fi vi .apprxeq. 0.0024 .
##EQU7## Therefore, the chromatic aberration occurring in the
objective lens 60 due to a change in the wavelength of light
emitted from the light source 10 when the chromatic aberration
correction lens 40 is not used, as shown in FIG. 7, can be removed
by employing the chromatic aberration correction lens 40 according
to the first embodiment of the present invention. Consequently, in
the case where the optical system structure of FIG. 8 and the
optical design data shown in Table 4 are provided, referring to
FIG. 9 illustrating the degrees of aberration of the objective lens
60, aberration rarely occurs in the objective lens 60 even when the
wavelength of light emitted from the light source 10 changes from
405 nm, that is, the reference wavelength, to 406 nm.
[0060] Referring to FIG. 10 and Table 5, the chromatic aberration
correction lens 140 according to a second embodiment of the present
invention is comprised of a first lens 141 having a positive power
and a second lens 145 having a negative power, which are
sequentially disposed from the light source 10. As shown in Table
5, the surfaces S1, S3 of the first and second lenses 141 and 145
facing the light source 10 and the objective lens 60, respectively,
have positive radii of curvature, and the contact surface S2
between the first and second lenses 141 and 145 has a negative
radius of curvature. The magnitudes of the radii of curvature of
the surfaces S1, S2, S3 of the first and second lenses 141 and 145
are similar to one another. TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 5 Radius of Abbe
curvature Thickness/ number at Element Surfaces (mm) gap (mm)
Material Refractivity the d-line Chromatic S1 7.320225 2.300000
LAFL2 1.721766 48.5 aberration S2 -6.459849 1.000000 EFD15 1.741876
30.1 correction S3 6.292012 10.00000 lens 140 Objective S4
(aspheric surface 1) 2.012300 1.700000 `OG` 1.623855 57.8 lens 60
S5 (aspheric surface 2) -18.075156 1.656000 Recording S6 .infin.
0.600000 `CG` 1.621462 31.0 medium 1
[0061] In the chromatic aberration correction lens 140 having the
above structure according to the second embodiment of the present
invention, the focal length of the first lens 141 is 5.112121 mm,
the focal length of the second lens 145 is -4.157561 mm, and the
total focal length of the chromatic aberration correction lens 140
is about 109.823479554 m. The incident pupil diameter of the
objective lens 60 is 4.8 mm. According to the chromatic aberration
correction lens 140 and the objective lens 60 having the optical
design data shown in Table 5, i .times. 1 fi vi ##EQU8##
approximates to 0, that is, i .times. 1 fi vi .apprxeq. 0.0019 .
##EQU9## Consequently, in the case where the optical system
structure of FIG. 10 and the optical design data shown in Table 5
are provided, as shown in FIG. 11 illustrating the aberration of
the objective lens 60, when the chromatic aberration correction
lens 140 according to the second embodiment of the present
invention is used, the chromatic aberration is corrected so that
aberration is minimal in the objective lens 60 even when the
wavelength of light emitted from the light source 10 changes from
405 nm, that is, the reference wavelength, to 406 nm, similar to
the case of using the chromatic aberration correction lens 40
according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
[0062] Referring to FIG. 12 and Table 6, the chromatic aberration
correction lens 240 according to a third embodiment of the present
invention is comprised of a first lens 241 having a negative power,
a second lens 243 having a positive power and a third lens 245
having a negative power, which are sequentially disposed from the
light source 10. As shown in Table 6, the first and third lenses
241 and 245 are formed of glass materials having similar Abbe
numbers at the d-line, and the second lens 243 is formed of a glass
material having an Abbe number at the d-line which is different
from those of the first and third lenses 241 and 245. The surfaces
S1, S4 of the first and third lenses 241 and 245 facing the light
source 10 and the objective lens 60, respectively, have positive
radii of curvature, the surface S2 between the first and second
lenses 241 and 243 has a positive radius of curvature, and the
surface S3 between the second and third lenses 243 and 245 has a
negative radius of curvature. TABLE-US-00006 TABLE 6 Radius of Abbe
curvature Thickness/ number at Element Surfaces (mm) gap (mm)
Material Refractivity the d-line Chromatic S1 7.564520 1.000000
EFD4 1.806295 27.5 aberration S2 5.252096 3.000000 BACD5 1.605256
61.3 correction S3 -11.863307 1.000000 EFD10 1.775916 28.3 lens 240
S4 10.217745 10.00000 Objective S5 (aspheric surface 1 ) 2.012300
1.700000 `OG` 1.623855 57.8 lens 60 S6 (aspheric surface 2)
-18.075156 1.656000 Recording S7 .infin. 0.600000 `CG` 1.621462
31.0 medium 1
[0063] In the chromatic aberration correction lens 240 having the
above structure according to the third embodiment of the present
invention, the focal length of the first lens 241 is 26.405720 mm,
the focal length of the second lens 243 is 6.440303 mm, the focal
length of the third lens 245 is -6.937722, and the total focal
length of the chromatic aberration correction lens 240 is about
116.040546093 m. The incident pupil diameter of the objective lens
60 is 5.0 mm. According to the chromatic aberration correction lens
240 and the objective lens 60 having the optical design data shown
in Table 6, i .times. 1 fi vi ##EQU10## approximates to 0, that is,
i .times. 1 fi vi .apprxeq. 0.0019 . ##EQU11## In other words,
chromatic aberration occurring in the objective lens 60 can be
almost removed when the chromatic aberration correction lens 240
according to this embodiment is used, similar to the case of using
the chromatic aberration correction lens 40 according to the first
embodiment of the present invention. Consequently, in the case
where the optical system structure of FIG. 12 and the optical
design data shown in Table 6 are provided, as shown in FIG. 13
illustrating the degrees of aberration of the objective lens 60,
when the chromatic aberration correction lens 240 according to the
third embodiment of the present invention is used, chromatic
aberration is corrected so that aberration is minimal in the
objective lens 60. This holds true even when the wavelength of
light emitted from the light source 10 changes from 405 nm, that
is, the reference wavelength, to 406 nm, like the case of using the
chromatic aberration correction lens 40 according to the first
embodiment of the present invention.
[0064] The chromatic aberration correction lenses 40, 140 and 240
according to the first through third embodiments of the present
invention described above are designed to be suitable for a high
density optical pickup device, which includes the objective lens 60
having a numerical aperture of 0.75 and is suitable for the
recording medium 1 having a thickness of 0.6 mm. Even if the
numerical aperture of the objective lens 60 and the thickness of
the recording medium 1 change, the chromatic aberration can be
effectively corrected as in the above three embodiments just by
appropriately changing the optical design data of each of the
chromatic aberration correction lenses 40, 140 and 240. In other
words, when a high density optical pickup device according to the
present invention is designed to form a light spot on a recording
medium 1 having a thickness of smaller than 0.6 mm with an
objective lens 60 having a numerical aperture of larger than 0.75,
each of the chromatic aberration correction lenses 40, 140 and 240
having structures according to the first through third embodiments
of the present invention is newly designed to be suitable for the
conditions of the objective lens 60 and the recording medium 1.
[0065] For example, when an optical pickup device 105 according to
the present invention is designed such that an objective lens 60'
having a numerical aperture of 0.85 with respect to the reference
wavelength of 405 nm focuses incident parallel light on a recording
medium 1' having a thickness of 0.1 mm to form a light spot, the
optical structure and the optical design data of the objective lens
60' and the chromatic aberration correction lens 40 according to
the first embodiment are changed as shown in FIG. 14 and Table 7,
resulting in chromatic aberration correction lens 340.
TABLE-US-00007 TABLE 7 Radius of Abbe curvature Thickness/ number
at Element Surfaces (mm) gap (mm) Material Refractivity the d-line
Chromatic S1 -1114.82920 1.000000 EFD15 1.741876 30.1 aberration S2
2.57236 3.000000 LAF3 1.742841 48.0 correction S3 -2735.69376
10.00000 lens 340 Objective S4 (aspheric surface 1') 1.41052
2.750000 `OG` 1.715566 53.2 lens 60' S5 (aspheric surface 2')
-2.48758 0.271251 Recording S6 .infin. 0.100000 `CG` 1.621462 31.0
medium 1'
[0066] The objective lens 60' is a bi-convex lens whose both
surfaces are aspheric. Table 8 shows the conic constants and
aspheric coefficients of the aspheric surfaces S4 and S5 of the
objective lens 60'. TABLE-US-00008 TABLE 8 Conic constants (K)
Aspheric coefficients Aspheric -0.697423 A: 0.121877E-01 B:
0.186663E-02 C: 0.411872E-03 surface S4 D: -0.145635E-03 E:
0.658968E-04 F: 0.224260E-04 G: 0.560839E-05 H: -0.307800E-05 J:
-0.233787E-05 Aspheric -27.258190 A: 0.359235E+00 B: 0.784442E-01
C: -0.172135E+01 surface S5 D: 0.196996E+01 E: -0.111915E-09 F:
-0.913659E-11 G: -0.735287E-12 H: -0.175404E-13 J: 0.636830E-15
[0067] The incident pupil diameter of light incident on the
objective lens 60' in parallel is 3.03 mm, and the focal length of
the objective lens 60' is about 1.782400 mm.
[0068] Like the chromatic aberration correction lens 40 according
to the first embodiment of the present invention described above
with reference to FIG. 8 and Table 4, the chromatic aberration
correction lens 340 is comprised of a first lens 341 having a
negative power and a second lens 345 having a positive power, which
are sequentially disposed from the light source 10. As shown in
Table 7, the first and second lenses 341 and 345 are formed of
glass materials having similar refractivities and different Abbe
numbers at the d-line. The surfaces S1, S3 of the first and second
lenses 341 and 345 facing the light source 10 and the objective
lens 60', respectively, have very large negative radii of
curvature, and the surface S2 between the first and second lenses
341 and 345 has a small radius of curvature.
[0069] When the chromatic aberration correction lens 340 having the
above structure is configured to be suitable for the objective lens
60' having a numerical aperture of 0.85 and the recording medium 1'
having a thickness of 0.1 mm based on the optical data shown in
Table 7, the focal length of the first lens 341 is -3.45806 mm, the
focal length of the second lens 345 is 3.460852 mm, and the total
focal length of the chromatic aberration correction lens 340 is
about -53.801051977 m. According to the chromatic aberration
correction lens 340 and the objective lens 60' having the optical
design data shown in Tables 7 and 8, approximate to 0, that is, i
.times. 1 fi vi .apprxeq. 0.0070 . ##EQU12##
[0070] FIG. 15 illustrates the aberration of the objective lens 60'
when the optical system structure of FIG. 14 and the optical design
data shown in Tables 7 and 8 are provided. As shown in FIG. 15,
even when the wavelength of light emitted from the light source 10
changes from 405 nm, that is, the reference wavelength, to 406 nm,
the chromatic aberration is corrected by the chromatic aberration
correction lens 340 so that aberration is minimal in the objective
lens 60'. Accordingly, even when the chromatic aberration
correction lens 340 according to the present invention is adopted
for an ultrahigh density optical pickup device, for example, which
forms a light spot on the recording medium 1' having a thickness of
0.1 mm with the objective lens 60' having a numerical aperture of
about 0.85, the chromatic aberration correction lens 340 can
effectively remove chromatic aberration occurring in the objective
lens 60'.
[0071] As is known from the above detailed embodiments, in a high
density optical pickup device employing a chromatic aberration
correction lens according to the present invention, i .times. 1 fi
vi ##EQU13## has a value which is close to 0 and satisfies the
range defined by Equation (1). In addition, a chromatic aberration
correction lens according to the present invention has an optical
power of nearly 0 and an infinite focal length of at least 10 m.
Accordingly, when the height of light incident on the chromatic
aberration correction lens is h.sub.i, and the height of light
coming out through the chromatic aberration correction lens is
h.sub.o, the chromatic aberration correction lens satisfies
0.95#h.sub.o/h.sub.i#1.05. Consequently, a chromatic aberration
correction lens according to the present invention can correct
chromatic aberration occurring in an objective lens due to a change
in a wavelength resulting from a change in the light output power
of the light source 10 and/or due to an increase in a wavelength
bandwidth caused by driving the light source 10 with HF, and is
advantageous in that it can be simply added to an optical pickup
device without changing the optical system structure of the optical
pickup device.
[0072] As described above, a high density optical pickup device
according to the present invention is provided with a chromatic
aberration correction lens having an infinite focal length as
compared to an objective lens and corrects chromatic aberration
using the refraction of optical materials, thereby having a high
light efficiency. In addition, an optical pickup device according
to the present invention is provided with a collimating lens to
change diverging light emitted from a light source into parallel
light and a separate chromatic aberration correction lens, thereby
recording information with light of relatively low power. Moreover,
since a chromatic aberration correction lens has an optical power
of nearly 0, it can be simply installed without changing the
optical system structure.
[0073] Although a few embodiments of the present invention have
been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled
in the art that changes may be made in this embodiment without
departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the
scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.
* * * * *