Optical pickup and optical recording and reproducing device

Abstract

An optical pickup includes a light source; a diffraction elementfor generating a write main beam and a read sub-beam via diffraction; an objective lens; a wavelength plate; a polarization hologram elementhaving a plurality of diffraction regions with different diffraction characteristics, designed so that each diffraction region separates a light beam reflected from the optical storage medium and transmitted through the wavelength plate into a 0order light beam and ±1order light beams; an actuator; and a photodetectorconfigured to detect a light beam reflected from the optical storage mediumand diffracted by the polarization hologram element. The photodetectorgenerates an RF signal from a detection result concerning a 0order light beam derived from the main beam, generates a focus error signal and a tracking error signal from a detection result concerning one of ±1order light beams derived from the main beam, and generates a signal indicating that data has been recorded normally from a detection result concerning a 0order light beam derived from the sub-beam.