Optical pickup using an optical phase plate

Abstract

An optical pickup apparatus having compatibility with a recodable compact disk (CD-R) and a digital video disk (DVD), which uses a wavelength of one of a first light beam and a second light beam according to the recording medium to be used. In the optical pickup apparatus, laser light sources emit a first light beam having a relatively shorter wavelength for the DVD and a second light beam having a longer wavelength for the CD-R, respectively. An objective lens has a predetermined focal length in accordance with the position of an information recording surface in the DVD. An optical path control unit controls the path of light beams so that the light beam emitted from one of the laser light sources is directed to the objective lens and the light output from the objective lens is directed to the optical detection unit. A phase shift unit which is located between the optical path control unit and the objective lens, shifts the phase of the second light proceeding from the optical path control unit to the objective lens, to thereby reduce the size of a beam spot which is formed on a position of the information recording surface in the CD-R.