Write-once type optical recording medium and fabrication method thereof

Abstract

To accomplish write-once type optical recording mediums that have excellent recording and reproducing characteristics and producibility and that are capable of being fabricated at low cost. A write-once type optical recording mediumhas the structure of which an inorganic recording film, a dielectric film, and a light transmission layerhave been successively formed on a substrate. The inorganic recording filmis composed of a metal filmand an oxide filmsuccessively formed on the substrate. When light is radiated to the inorganic recording film, oxygen is separated from the oxide filmdue to the light catalyst effect, resulting in increasing the oxygen concentration on the metal filmside and largely varying the optical constant.