Patent EP0405742A2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0405742A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Method for increasing linear bit density in magneto-optical storage media
Assignee: Quantum Corp
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Filing: 1990-05-18
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2010-05-18
Abstract
Abstract An apparatus for storing and reading a magneto-optical disk has a slit shaped aperture (40) located in an air-bearing slider (30) which flies above the disk (10). Domains of the disk are selected for storing or reading by a light beam (13). The domains are reduced in size without losing inter-domain resolution by illuminating the disk with the portion of a focused laser beam incident on the disk through the slit (40), the slit width being less than the full beam width. The slider preferably terminates a wedge-shaped cavity (34) suspended above the medium a distance substantially less than the wavelength of the illuminating light; the thickness of the walls of the slit being substantially less than the wavelength of the illuminating light.
Inventors
- 👤 Neville K.S. Lee
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 03:27
CPC Classifications
G; G11; G11B; G11B7/00; G11B7/12; G11B7/135; G11B7/1387; G11B11/00; G11B11/10; G11B11/105; G11B11/10502; G11B11/10528; G11B11/10532; G11B11/10534; G11B11/10536; G11B11/1055; G11B11/1058; G11B7/122
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 18
Claim 1
Independent Claim
112 words
An optical storage apparatus, comprising: an optical storage medium, a mechanism for generating and focusing a light beam, and a slit located on an air-bearing slider, said slider being suspended so that said slit is located a distance above said medium substantially less than the wavelength of said light beam, the length of said slit being oriented along the cross-track direction, the thickness of the walls of said slit being substantially less than the wavelength of said light beam; a region of one said storage track being selected for storing or reading through illumination of said region by the portion of said focused light beam incident on said medium through said slit.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
112 words
An optical storage apparatus, comprising: an optical storage medium, a mechanism for generating and focusing a light beam, and a slit located on an air-bearing slider, said slider being suspended so that said slit is located a distance above said medium substantially less than the wavelength of said light beam, the length of said slit being oriented along the cross-track direction, the thickness of the walls of said slit being substantially less than the wavelength of said light beam; a region of one said storage track being selected for storing or reading through illumination of said region by the portion of said focused light beam incident on said medium through said slit.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
19 words
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the length of said slit is greater than twice the recording track pitch.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
14 words
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said medium is a disk having two faces.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
16 words
The apparatus of claim 3, wherein said tracks comprise spiral tracks through one said disk face.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
17 words
The apparatus of claim 3, wherein said tracks comprise concentric circular tracks through one said disk face.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
14 words
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said slit terminates a cavity of wedge-shaped cross-section.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
17 words
The apparatus of claim 6, wherein said cavity is formed from preferential etching of a crystalline structure.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
124 words
An optical data storage apparatus, comprising: an optical data storage medium having alternating recording and non-recording tracks on one medium face; a mechanism for generating and focusing a light beam; and a slit located on an air-bearing slider, said slider being suspended so that said slit is located a distance above said medium substantially less than the wavelength of said light beam, the length of said slit being oriented along the cross-track direction, the thickness of the walls of said slit being substantially less than the wavelength of said light beam; a region of one said storage track being selected for storing or reading through illumination of said region by the portion of said focused light beam incident on said medium through said slit.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
124 words
An optical data storage apparatus, comprising: an optical data storage medium having alternating recording and non-recording tracks on one medium face; a mechanism for generating and focusing a light beam; and a slit located on an air-bearing slider, said slider being suspended so that said slit is located a distance above said medium substantially less than the wavelength of said light beam, the length of said slit being oriented along the cross-track direction, the thickness of the walls of said slit being substantially less than the wavelength of said light beam; a region of one said storage track being selected for storing or reading through illumination of said region by the portion of said focused light beam incident on said medium through said slit.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
23 words
The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the width of said slit is not substantially greater than the cross-track pitch of the recording tracks.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
19 words
The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the length of said slit is greater than twice the recording track pitch.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
47 words
The optical data reading and writing apparatus of claim 10, wherein said recording tracks are responsive to a recording signal for recording information by modulation of a physical property along said recording tracks, and said non-recording tracks are less responsive to said recording signal than said-recording tracks.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
19 words
The optical data reading and writing apparatus of claim 11, wherein said media is a disk having two faces.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
21 words
The optical data reading and writing apparatus of claim 12, wherein said tracks comprise spiral tracks through one said disk face.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
22 words
The optical data reading and writing apparatus of claim 12, wherein said tracks comprise concentric circular tracks through one said disk face.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
77 words
An optical head for reading an optical storage medium having parallel spaced tracks, comprising: a slider defining a narrow slit-shaped aperture, a support juxtaposing said aperture within a wavelength of the surface of said medium with the long dimension of said aperture extending in the cross-track direction, and a lens focusing a laser beam through said aperture onto said medium such that lateral portions of the focused beam are occluded by the aperture in the track direction.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
77 words
An optical head for reading an optical storage medium having parallel spaced tracks, comprising: a slider defining a narrow slit-shaped aperture, a support juxtaposing said aperture within a wavelength of the surface of said medium with the long dimension of said aperture extending in the cross-track direction, and a lens focusing a laser beam through said aperture onto said medium such that lateral portions of the focused beam are occluded by the aperture in the track direction.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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