Medium and method for recording optical information

Abstract

Provided is a medium for recording optical information and a method for recording optical information that allow recording sensitivity to be increased, and particularly a prescribed recording sensitivity to be maintained together with reflectivity and other playback characteristics during high-speed recording, by employing the temperature dependence of recording sensitivity of the light-absorbing layer instead of the light attenuation coefficient of the light-absorbing layer, and selecting a material which is prone to increased absorption of a laser beam at high temperatures during recording. A distinctive feature is that the absorbance or recording sensitivity of the dye material film used in the medium for recording optical information that has a writable structure is dependent on temperature. Specifically, it was found that the absorption spectrum of the dye material varies at high temperatures, and a relation A /A ≧1.30 was established. In this relation, A (Abs) is an absorbance of the light-absorbing layer at a wavelength of recording light under room-temperature conditions, T (°C.) is a pyrolysis temperature of the light-absorbing layer, and A (Abs) is an absorbance at a wavelength of recording light under T−50 (°C.) conditions.