Minolta Company, Ltd.

Konica-minolta Holdings, Inc.

Konica Minolta Opto, Inc.

Tdk Corporation

National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology

Manami Kuiseko

Koujirou Sekine

Hiroaki Ueda

Yasushi Kobayashi

Naoki Nishida

Kenji Konno

Akira Sato

Hiroshi Hatano

Hiroyuki Yamasaki

Masahiro Okitsu

Takashi Kikukawa

Junji Tominaga

Shigeto Ohmori

Mitsuru Yokoyama

Yukihiro Ozeki

Kazumi Furuta

Nobufumi Atoda

Takashi Nakano

Koji Horii

Naoki Mitsugi

Disclosed is a deflection optical element, which makes it possible to deflect an incident light so as to couple the incident light to an optical element disposed in the later stage without deteriorating the optical efficiency. The deflection optical element, which deflects an incident light coming along a first optical axis at a deflection surface and emits an emission light propagating along a second optical axis so as to couple the emission light to either a diffraction grating or a refracting optical system, comprises at least one diffracting surface and at least one reflecting surface, wherein the angle &#x3b8;n, an angle &#x3b8;t derived as a total diffraction angle caused by the at least one diffracting surface, and an angle &#x3b8;a, which is formed at a second intersection of the first optical axis and the second optical axis, fulfill a conditional relationship of:0&#x2266;&#x3b8;

Deflection optical element, optical recording head and optical recording apparatus

Provided is an optical recording head in which a light beam from a light source is collected by an optical element and reflected on a reflecting surface to be formed into a spot light. Since a support portion for supporting the light source of the optical element at a predetermined position and the reflection surface for reflecting the light beam are formed integrally with each other, it is not required to perform the positioning thereof, and light can be collected to a very small spot with high efficiency, and an optical recording head and an optical recording apparatus having low heights can be provided.

Optical recording head and optical recording apparatus

A surface light emitter comprising a surface-emitting device is notably increased in the front brightness of light outputted from the surface-emitting device. In the surface light emitter comprising the surface-emitting deviceand a light control sheet, a repetitive concavo-convex pattern of trapezoidal from in section is formed at least on one side of the light control sheet and has planar portionsat distal ends of projections of the concavo-convex pattern tightly bonded to an output surfaceof the surface-emitting device. The light control sheet satisfies a condition 0.75&#x3e;D&#x3e;4[(sin &#x3b8;&#x2212;1/n)+0.034] where &#x3b8; represents the apex angle formed by opposite slant sides of the trapezoidal projection of the light control sheet, n represents the refractive index of the light control sheet, and D represents the ratio of a length of a zone to a one-cycle length of the repetitive concavo-convex pattern of the light control sheet as determined in one of the pattern arrangement directions, the zone tightly bonded to the output surface of the surface-emitting device.

Surface light emitter

A thermal-assisted magnetic recording head which heats a magnetic bit of a magnetic disk by light radiation in recording magnetic data into the magnetic disk with a magnetic writing element. The magnetic recording head has a reflecting converging element with a surface emitting laser incorporated therein, and a transparent plate serving as a slider. A laser beam emitted from the surface emitting laser is reflected by a mirror surface of the reflecting converging element and is converged on a plasmon probe formed on a bottom surface of the transparent plate. Thereby, near-field light effuses from the plasmon probe into a very small area and heats the magnetic bit of the magnetic disk.

Thermal-assisted magnetic recording head and magnetic recording apparatus

A recorder has a recording head which uses light for information recording to a recording medium. The recording head has a slider and an optical waveguide. The slider moves relative to the recording medium while floating thereon. The optical waveguide is provided in the slider and has a refractive index difference of 20% or more between a core and a cladding.

Recording head and recorder

The front luminance of the light emitted from a surface light emitter provided with a surface light emitting device is greatly enhanced. In a surface light emitter in which a light control sheethaving a concavoconvex structure provided on one of its surfaces is affixed on to the light emitting side surface of a surface light emitting device, the projectionson one surface of the above light control sheet gets small towards the light emitting side surface of the above surface light emitting device, not only the tip surfacesof these projectionsare affixed to the light emitting side surface, but also a transparent material with a lower refractive index than the above light control sheet is packed in the space partformed between the projections of the above light control sheet and the light emitting side surface of the surface light emitting device.

Surface light emitter and display apparatus

An optical head which has a prism with an incident section, an internal reflective surface and an emergent surface, and an optical head device which employs the optical head. Light emitted from a light source is incident to the prism through the incident section, reflects at least once on the internal reflective surface and is converged in the vicinity of the emergent surface. Then, the light effuses through the emergent surface as near field light.

Optical head and optical head device

To improve the front brightness of the light emitted from a surface light emitter having a surface light emitting device. In the surface light emitter to which a light control sheet having depressions is provided, the surface of the light control sheet having the depressions is adhered to a light emitting side surface of a surface light emitting device, and the transparent material whose refractive index is lower than the refractive index of the light control sheet is arranged in the spaces formed between the depressions and the light emitting side surface of the surface light emitting device.

Surface light emitter, display apparatus and light control member

An optical bidirectional modulehaving therein light emitting elementwhich transmits optical signal to the end facet of the optical fiber, light receiving elementwhich receives optical signal from the end facet of the optical fiber and stair-shaped multi-level grating, wherein the stair-shaped multi-level grating separates the first light path between the end facet of optical fiber and the light emitting element and the second light path between the end facet of optical fiber and the light receiving element by a different wavelength of each optical signal, when the module mixes and separates optical signal with different wavelengths traveling in opposite directions related to the end facet of the optical fiberused for bidirectional optical fiber communication by means of a wavelength multiplex system.

Optical bidirectional module

An apparatus for reproducing information stored in an optical recording medium which comprises marks or pits which are arranged at a pitch less than &#x3bb;/2NA, wherein &#x3bb; is a wavelength of light used for reproduction and NA is an numerical aperture of an objective lens. The apparatus generally comprises a laser diode, a polarization beam splitter, an objective lens, beam splitters, a low-frequency light detecting system with a photodetector, a high-frequency light detecting system with a photodetector, and a signal processing circuit for combining detection signals from the photodetectors. In the high-frequency light detecting system, before a convergent lens, a shielding band is provided so as to shield the middle of a bundle of rays of reproduction light.

Method and apparatus for reproducing an optical signal

A reflecting microoptical system is formed of only two optical surfaces having a continuous configuration, and has a simple configuration suitable for glass molding. Different combinations of convex, planar and concave surfaces are disclosed for the two optical surfaces, to provide different advantageous properties. In preferred embodiments of the invention, at least one, and in some cases both, of the optical surfaces have an aspherical shape to correct for aberrations.

Reflecting microoptical system

A spectral image input device has an image forming optical system for forming an image of image light on an image forming surface and a phase difference generating unit disposed anterior to the image forming surface in the direction of image light travel. The phase difference generating unit constitutes, sequentially in the direction of image light travel, a polarizer for transmitting only polarized light in a specific direction, an optical element formed of a solid material having a birefringence, and arranged such that the principal refraction index axis is inclined 45&deg; relative to the polarization angle of the analyzer, the optical element generating a phase difference in accordance with the wavelength of the image light based on the difference in the physical thickness of the optical element in the direction of image light travel and an analyzer for transmitting only the image light of a polarization angle of 90&deg; relative to the direction of the polarized light of the polarizer.

Growing community of inventors

Kyoto, Japan

Manami Kuiseko