Stock material or miscellaneous articles – Circular sheet or circular blank
Reexamination Certificate
2002-02-25
2004-02-03
Mulvaney, Elizabeth (Department: 1774)
Stock material or miscellaneous articles
Circular sheet or circular blank
C428S064400, C428S447000, C428S913000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06686017
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a write-once (information can be written once, thereafter it can only be reproduced) optical recording film, a method for manufacturing the same, an optical recording medium, a method for manufacturing the same, an information recording/reproducing apparatus using the same, a computer system using the same, and a video signal recording/reproducing system.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Recently, the amount of electronic information has risen dramatically, so that there is a need for the development of high-capacity low-cost optical information storage media. High-capacity low-cost optical information storage media are for example in high demand for recording video information of various formats and as supplemental storage media for computers. Most of the high-capacity optical information recording media that are currently under development use magnetic recording, optomagnetic recording or phase-change recording.
In magnetic recording, a super-thin layer of a metallic magnetic material is provided in a medium substrate, so that information is recorded by magnetizing the magnetic material by irradiation with magnetic force lines.
In optomagnetic recording, a magnetic chemisorptive thin film is heated partially to above the Curie temperature or the temperature compensation point, and information is written by extinguishing the coercivity of these portions and inverting the orientation of the magnetization into the direction of a magnetic recording field applied from outside.
In phase-change recording, a recording film made of a special alloy is irradiated with a laser beam, and information is recorded by switching the alloy between a crystalline state and an amorphous state.
However, when using any of these recording methods, the recording layer is formed by vacuum vapor deposition. Therefore, there is the problem that the manufacturing costs for these optical recording media are high.
Furthermore, with these methods, there is the problem that optical recording media that are compatible with various types of information recording/reproducing apparatuses cannot be manufactured easily.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the above, it is a first object of the present invention to provide an optical recording film which an optical recording layer can be formed using an organic thin film, but without using vacuum vapor deposition, and a method for manufacturing the same.
It is a second object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive high-density write-once optical recording medium using this optical recording film.
It is a third object of the present invention to provide a computer system and a video signal recording/reproducing system using the write-once optical recording medium.
A first write-once optical recording film in accordance with the present invention includes:
a chemisorptive thin film with orienting properties fixed directly or through a primer layer to a substrate surface; and
a coating formed on a surface of the chemisorptive thin film;
wherein the coating has an initial molecule orientation attained by aligning a group of polymerizable molecules in a predetermined direction on the surface of the chemisorptive thin film, and polymerizing the polymerizable molecules to one another; and
wherein regions with changed initial molecule orientation and regions with unchanged initial molecule orientation of the coating are formed when selectively irradiating the coating with light that changes the initial molecule orientation, making optical information recording possible.
A first method for manufacturing a write-once optical recording film in accordance with the present invention includes:
forming a chemisorptive thin film on a substrate;
subjecting the chemisorptive thin film to an orientation treatment;
bringing a surface of the chemisorptive thin film in contact with polymerizable molecules by applying a solution in which the polymerizable molecules have been dissolved to the surface of the chemisorptive thin film, removing the solvent, and aligning a group of the polymerizable molecules in a predetermined direction at the surface of the chemisorptive thin film with the orientation regulating force of the chemisorptive thin film; and
forming a coating by bonding (e.g. polymerizing or crosslinking) the polymerizable molecules to one another.
In accordance with the present invention, a first optical recording medium comprising an optical recording layer on at least one surface of a medium substrate includes an optical recording film comprising:
a chemisorptive thin film with orienting properties fixed directly or through a primer layer to a substrate surface; and
a coating formed on a surface of the chemisorptive thin film;
wherein the coating has an initial molecule orientation attained by aligning a group of polymerizable molecules in a predetermined direction on the surface of the chemisorptive thin film, and polymerizing the polymerizable molecules to one another; and
wherein regions with changed initial molecule orientation and regions with unchanged initial molecule orientation of the coating are formed by selectively irradiating the coating with light that changes the initial molecule orientation, making optical information recording possible.
In accordance with the present invention, a first method for manufacturing an optical recording medium provided with a recording layer in which optical information can be recorded by changing an initial molecule orientation of a coating constituting the recording layer by selectively irradiating focused light, includes:
forming a chemisorptive thin film on at least one surface of a medium substrate;
subjecting the chemisorptive thin film to an orientation treatment;
bringing a surface of the chemisorptive thin film in contact with polymerizable molecules by applying a solution in which the polymerizable molecules have been dissolved to the surface of the chemisorptive thin film, removing the solvent, and aligning a group of the polymerizable molecules in a predetermined direction at the surface of the chemisorptive thin film with the orientation regulating force of the chemisorptive thin film; and
forming a coating by polymerizing the polymerizable molecules to one another.
In accordance with the present invention, a first method for optical recording on an optical recording medium provided with an optical recording layer on at least one surface of a substrate is provided,
wherein the optical recording layer comprises a chemisorptive thin film with orienting properties fixed directly or through a primer layer to the surface of the substrate, and a coating formed on a surface of the chemisorptive thin film;
wherein the coating has an initial molecule orientation attained by aligning a group of polymerizable molecules in a predetermined direction on the surface of the chemisorptive thin film, and polymerizing the polymerizable molecules to one another;
wherein regions with changed initial molecule orientation and regions with unchanged initial molecule orientation of the coating are formed when selectively irradiating the coating with light that changes the initial molecule orientation, thus recording optical information.
In accordance with the present invention, a first information recording/reproducing apparatus for recording and reproducing information on a write-once optical recording medium,
wherein the write-once optical recording medium is provided with an optical recording layer on at least one surface of a substrate;
wherein the optical recording layer comprises a chemisorptive thin film with orienting properties fixed directly or through a primer layer to the surface of the substrate, and a coating formed on a surface of the chemisorptive thin film;
wherein the coating has an initial molecule orientation attained by aligning a group of polymerizable molecules in a predetermined direction on the surface of the chemisorptive thin film, and polymerizing the polymerizable molecules to one another; and
wherein regions with changed initial molecule orientation an
Matsushita Electric - Industrial Co., Ltd.
Merchant & Gould P.C.
Mulvaney Elizabeth
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