Optical recording medium, information recording method and information

Abstract

An optical recording medium includes in sequence a transparent substrate, a light-reflecting layer, a transparent intermediate layer and a light-absorbing layer. The light-reflecting layer and the light-absorbing layer are respectively formed as a layer of an organic coloring matter. The light-absorbing layer can cause deformation for recording information accompanied with a local charge in thickness of the transparent intermediate layer in response to a recording beam indicated to the light-absorbing layer through the transparent substrate. The transparent substrate, the light-reflecting layer, the transparent intermediate layer and the light-absorbing layer in combination constitutes a multi-layer optical element with respect to a reproducing beam having a prescribed wavelength and incident to the light-absorbing layer through the transparent substrate, the multi-layer optical element showing a minimum reflectance and a maximum reflectance of the reproducing beam at an incident surface of the optical recording medium at different thicknesses of the transparent intermediate layer. The transparent intermediate layer is formed in a thickness providing a mediate reflectance between the maximum and minimum transmittances. At the record pit, the multi-layer optical element is converted into a fresh element providing a successive reflectance change including a higher and a lower reflectance with respect to the reference reflectance at non-record parts, due to the change in thickness of the transparent intermediate layer.