Method of arranging optical pickup system and optical recording and/or reproducing apparatus having the arranged optical pickup system

Abstract

A method of arranging an optical pickup system on a deck of an optical recording and/or reproducing apparatus, which enables detection of a tracking error signal using one photodetector based on a three-beam method and by a differential phase detection method. The optical pickup system includes a light source, a diffractive optical element which diffracts a light beam incident from the light source and splits the same into at least three beams, a plate-type beam splitter which changes a propagation path of the light beam, and a photodetector including at least one main photodetector having at least four sections and a plurality of sub-photodetectors. The optical pickup system is constructed so as to have a reflecting mirror redirect the propagation path of the light beam emitted from the light source toward a recording medium. The method of arranging the optical pickup includes, where the propagation path of the light beam transmitted through the plate-type beam splitter to the photodetector is an optical path axis, arranging the optical pickup system so as to have the optical path axis tilted with respect to an axis in a tangential direction of the recording medium and have the photodetector placed away from a rotation center of a motor that rotates the recording medium, and selectively optimizing the arrangement of the photodetector to detect a tracking error signal by the differential phase detection method.