Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Kyohji Hattori

Kenichi Aihara

Yuki Nakamura

Katsuyuki Yamada

Eiji Noda

Fumiya Ohmi

Hiroko Iwasaki

Yoshihiko Hotta

Tetsuo Watanabe

Yukio Ide

Akihiko Okamoto

Naoshi Mishima

Michihisa Takahashi

A method and apparatus for initializing optical recording media is provided that detects the intensity of a reflective light off of an optical recording media and analyzes the initializing condition based on the detected intensity during an initializing process. The light is radiated on a rotating phase-change optical recording medium. The light may be moved in a radial direction of the optical recording medium. The detected intensity of the reflected light may be used to identify crystallized portions and amorphous portions of the optical media. The initialization process can be adaptively controlled to ensure proper initialization. If desired, re-initialization can be limited to those areas detected to be outside of the predetermined parameters.

Method and apparatus for initializing optical recording media

A method of initializing a phase-change optical information recording medium is provided, using an optical system incorporating a semiconductor laser device. The laser device is characterized by a specified spatial power distribution. In a spatial distribution of the laser power focused on the recording medium, in the direction perpendicular to guide tracks the laser device preferably has less average smaller in both end regions of the spatial distribution, which have each 10% of the width at half maximum of the distribution, than the average in the center region of the full width at half maximum of the distribution.

Initialization of phase-change optical recording medium

An optical information memory medium, including, in the stated order a substrate, an optical information memory layer which is capable of memorizing information therein, and a reversible display recording layer which is capable of rewritably recording therein, in a visibly recognizable form, at least part of an information corresponding to the information memorized in the optical information memory layer, and a display recording method using the optical information memory medium are disclosed.

Optical information memory medium and display recording method using the same

A method and apparatus for initializing optical recording media is provided that detects the intensity of a reflective light off of an optical recording media and analyzes the initializing condition based on the detected intensity during an initializing process. The light is radiated on a rotating phase-change optical recording medium. The light maybe moved in a radial direction of the optical recording medium. The detected intensity of the reflected light may be used to identify crystallized portions and amorphous portions of the optical media. The initialization process can be adaptively controlled to ensure proper initialization. If desired, re-initialization can be limited to those areas detected to be outside of the predetermined parameters.

An optical data storage medium includes a substrate, an optical data storage layer overlaid on the substrate and a reversible image recording layer overlaid on the optical data storage layer, in which information is recorded in the reversible image recording layer so as to be visible. The reversible image recording layer, which includes a matrix resin and a low-molecular-weight organic substance dispersed in the matrix resin, may preferably be thermosensitive and change its transparency or color tone in response to heat.

Optical data storage medium capable of reversibly displaying information

An optical recording medium capable of recording and erasing information, includes a first dielectric layer, a recording layer, a second dielectric layer, a light reflection and heat dissipation layer, and an overcoat layer which are successively overlaid on a substrate, the recording layer including a phase-change recording material which includes as constituent elements Ag, In, Sb, Te, and N and/or O with the respective atomic % thereof being .alpha., .beta., .gamma., .delta. and .epsilon. (the total atomic % of N and/or O), which are in the relationship of: 0&lt;.alpha..ltoreq.6, 3.ltoreq..beta..ltoreq.15, 50.ltoreq..gamma..ltoreq.65, 20.ltoreq..delta..ltoreq.35, 0.ltoreq..epsilon..ltoreq.5, provided that .alpha.+.beta.+.gamma.+.delta.+.epsilon.=100, and (2) having a recrystallization upper-limit linear speed in a range of 2.5 to 5.0 m/s. A recording method and a reproduction method, using this optical recording medium, are proposed.

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Tokyo, Japan

Kyohji Hattori