Introduction

The optical theory of laser disk recording and readout as well as that of the various focus-error and track-error detection schemes have been developed over the past several years. Generally speaking, these theories describe the propagation of the laser beam in the optical head, its interaction with the storage medium, and its return to the photodetectors for final analysis and signal extraction. The work in this area has been based primarily on geometrical optics and the scalar theory of diffraction, an approach that has proven successful in describing a wide variety of observed phenomena.

The lasers for future generations of optical disk drives are expected to operate at shorter wavelengths; at the same time, the numerical aperture of the objective lens is likely to increase and the track-pitch will decrease. These developments will result in very small focused spots and shallow depths of focus. However, under these conditions the interaction between the light and the disk surface roughness increases, polarization-dependent effects (especially those for the marginal rays) gain significance, maintaining tight focus and accurate track position becomes exceedingly difficult, and, finally, small aberrations and/or misalignments deteriorate the quality of the readout and servo signals. Thus, attaining acceptable levels of performance and reliability in practice requires a thorough understanding of the details of operation of the system. In this respect, accurate modeling of the optical path is indispensable.