KR20020054562A - Near-field optical recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A near field optical recording device is provided to clean the surface of a lens when the surface of the external operation lens loaded on a slider is exposed to an external, upon near filed optical recording or reproduction, while interacting with the surface of a recording medium. CONSTITUTION: A cleaner(35) is located on a locus on which a slider(31) moves. If a cleaning operation is inputted from a user or automatically at predetermined intervals, a VCM(Voice Coil Motor) is driven to locate the slider on an upper surface of the cleaner. The VCM is reciprocated at a regular interval, to make the slider reciprocate on an upper part of the cleaner. Accordingly, the lower surface of an external operation lens(32) loaded on a lower part of the slider contacts with the cleaner then cleaned. Contacting the slider with the cleaner maintains a regular friction force with an elastic force of a suspension arm.

Description

Near-field optical recording device {NEAR-FIELD OPTICAL RECORDING DEVICE}

The present invention relates to a near field optical recording apparatus, and more particularly, to a near field optical recording apparatus capable of reducing surface contamination of an opposing lens mounted on a slider.

An optical recording medium or magneto-optical recording medium must have a thin bit (or recording mark) size and a narrow track width to have a high density recording capacity. However, since the spot size of the light condensed on the recording medium to form a bit in the recording film of the recording medium is limited by the diffraction limit, there is a limit in improving the recording density. In light of the trend of large-capacity information, new optical recording / reproducing methods are required to overcome the limitations of existing optical recording / reproducing methods. In recent years, research on near field recording / reproduction using near field, which is expected to significantly improve recording capacity, has been increasing.

The principle of near field optical recording and reproduction is as follows. Light entering the lens at an angle greater than or equal to the critical angle is totally reflected when traveling from a dense refractive index to a small one. At this time, due to total reflection of light, light of very small intensity exists on the surface of the lens, which is called an evanescent wave or dissipation wave. Using this evernet wave, it is possible to achieve high resolution, which is impossible because of the diffraction limit, which is an absolute limit of resolution due to diffraction of light in the far-field. The near field optical recording and reproducing optical system totally reflects the light in the lens to generate an Evernet wave on the surface of the lens, and records and plays back by coupling the Evernet wave and the recording medium.

1 is a perspective view showing a conventional near field optical recording device 10. In the deck 18, a central portion of the disk 11, which is a recording medium, is mounted on the spindle motor (not shown) so as to be rotatable, and a recording and reproducing apparatus is provided on the other side of the inside. The floating head slider 12 is supported by the suspension arm 14 on the upper surface of the disk, and one side of the suspension arm is connected to the pickup 17. A voice coil motor (VCM) 16 is installed below the pickup to allow the pickup to rotate at an angle within a certain range. On the other hand, a fixed arm 13 is supported on the upper surface of the head slider from the pickup, and a prism 15 is provided at the end of the fixed arm. Light generated by the light source (not shown) of the pickup part is changed in the prism, passes through a lens (not shown) mounted on the head slider, and finally enters the disk surface. It is possible to record or reproduce the optical information by the interaction of the incident light with the disk surface.

For near field optical recording and reproduction, a floating head slider equipped with a lens should be close to the wavelength of near field light on the surface of the recording medium within a range of one minute. Since the near-field floating head slider must be very close to the disk surface, the surface of the lens mounted on the optical head slider is easily exposed to foreign matter between the disk surface and the disk surface and the slider, which is susceptible to contamination. Contamination of the near-field optical lens mounted on the floating slider not only greatly affects the formation of the beam spot used for recording, but also causes a large error in detection of the recording mark during reproduction. In particular, since the diameter of the beam spot is less than the diffraction limit of light, the effect of these contaminants on the formation of the beam spot is very large compared to the conventional far field, and the scattering (Evanescent) during recording / reproducing Because of the use of waves, the presence of contaminants in the path of the beam spot also greatly affects the transmission of light energy during recording.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a means for easily removing contaminants of a lens mounted on a slider in a near field optical recording device.

1 is a perspective view showing a conventional near field optical recording device.

2 is a plan view showing a near field optical recording device of the present invention.

3 is a perspective view showing the head slider.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing the lens cleaning action according to the present invention.

*** Explanation of symbols for main parts of drawing ***

21: Deck 25: VCM

28: head slider 29: cleaner

30: support part

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a lens for injecting light into a recording medium and transmitting the reflected light, a head slider mounting the lens, a suspension arm connecting the head slider, and a suspension arm for supporting the suspension arm. Near field optical recording comprising a pick-up section, drive means connected to the pick-up section and enabling rotational movement of the head slider, a deck for isolating each component from the outside, and lens cleaning means installed inside the deck. Provide the device.

The lens cleaning means is fixed to one inner wall of the deck, and a roller-type cleaner is connected by the support means from the inner wall of the deck. In addition, the lens cleaning means is installed on the inner wall of the deck, but may be connected to the drive means to enable reciprocating motion.

Such lenses include all types of lenses that enable near-field magneto-optical interactions, in particular solid-immersion lenses.

Fig. 2 is a plan view showing a near field optical recording device including the lens cleaning means of the present invention. In the deck 21, a disk 22 and a recording device are installed. The recording apparatus is composed of a pick-up part 24 which can be rotated at a predetermined angle by the VCM 25 as driving means, a suspension arm 26 and a fixed arm 27 extending from the pick-up part to a predetermined portion of the disc. do. One end of the fixed arm is fitted with a prism (not shown) that changes the path of light, and one end of the suspension arm is equipped with a lens mounted head slider. On the other hand, a washing part is installed on one wall inside the deck. The washing unit may be various embodiments, but in the present embodiment, the cleaning unit includes a support unit 29 fixed to the inner wall of the deck and a roller-type cleaner 30 fixed while being supported by the support unit. The cleaner may remove contaminants on the surface of the lens during friction with the lens by applying a cleaning material to the surface or by attaching a nonwoven fabric.

3 shows an example of a head slider of a near field optical recording apparatus, in which an opposing lens 32 close to a recording medium is mounted on one side of a slider 31, and an objective lens 34 and the objective lens are mounted on an upper portion of the slider. The frame 33 on which is mounted is installed. The head slider is mounted at one end of the suspension arm 26 of FIG. 2 and rotates at an angle while being lifted from the surface of the recording medium according to the rotation of the pickup which fixes the other end of the suspension arm. Enable action. The lower surface of the lens mounted below the slider is cleaned periodically or manually by the lens cleaning unit of the present invention.

This cleaning operation will be described with reference to FIG. Outside the disc, the cleaner 35 is placed on the trajectory of the slider movement. When the action for cleaning is automatically input from the user or at regular time intervals, the VCM (25 in FIG. 2) is driven so that the slider 31 is located on the upper surface of the cleaner, and again the reciprocating motion of the VCM is carried out at regular intervals. Reciprocate on the cleaner. By this operation, the lower surface of the opposing lens 32 mounted on the lower part of the slider is cleaned by contact with the cleaner. Here, the contact between the slider and the cleaner maintains a constant frictional force by the elastic force of the suspension arm (26 in FIG. 2).

This lens cleaning action can also be controlled by a separate contamination detection means. That is, when the surface of the opposing lens mounted on the slider is contaminated and an abnormality occurs in the recording / reproducing signal, the microcomputer determines whether or not the abnormality is from contamination of the lens, and performs a cleaning operation in the case of contamination. When the command of the cleaning operation falls, the slider driven by the VCM is pulled out of the disk and the slider is moved to the position where the cleaner is installed. After the slider is moved to the cleaner, the VCM motor is rotated by a predetermined angle so that the lower surface of the opposing lens makes a reciprocating friction movement with the surface of the cleaner. At the end of the cleaning process, the VCM returns the slider back to its original position on the top of the disc.

In the above, the case in which the cleaner as the lens cleaning means is fixed to the inner wall of the deck has been described. However, the cleaner itself may be reciprocated by connecting the driving means to the cleaner. In such a case, the cleaning operation can be performed by positioning the slider at a predetermined area outside the recording medium and then reciprocating the cleaner on the lower surface of the slider.

According to the present invention, the surface of the opposing lens mounted on the slider during near field optical recording or reproducing interacts with the surface of the recording medium to facilitate cleaning of the lens surface even when exposed to contaminants. Therefore, it is possible to quickly eliminate the incompleteness of recording and playback due to lens contamination.

Claims (4)

A lens for injecting light into the recording medium and transmitting the reflected light, a head slider mounting the lens, a suspension arm connecting the head slider, a pickup part supporting the suspension arm, and a connection part to the pickup part And a driving means for enabling a rotational movement of the head slider, a deck for isolating each of the components from the outside, and a lens washing means installed in the deck. The near field optical recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lens cleaning means comprises a support fixed to an inner wall of the deck, and a roller-type cleaner connected to the support. The near field optical recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lens cleaning means is installed in the deck, and includes a driving means to reciprocate. The near field optical recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a lens contamination detection means and a lens contamination control means.