The present invention relates to an optical disk and a method of producing the same and more particularly to a stamper for molding an optical disk base highly compatible with commercially available CD (Compact Disk) players, a method of producing the stamper, a method of producing an optical disk base, a method of producing an optical disk, and an optical disk base, and an optical disk.
In parallel with the spread of optical disks, there is an increasing demand for the timely delivery of high quality optical disks to the market. Particularly, to enhance quantity production of optical disks, it is necessary to reduce a disk base molding cycle.
To produce an optical disk, a stamper formed with a transfer surface is positioned in one of a pair of mold parts forming a cavity therebetween. Molten resin is injected into the cavity and then cooled off. Subsequently, the mold parts are separated in order to remove the cooled resin. As a result, the transfer surface of the stamper is transferred to the resin, forming a recording surface.
It is a common practice with an optical disk to hold the mold parts at a temperature of about 200xc2x0 C. lower than the temperature of resin to be injected into the cavity. This promotes the cooling and solidification of the resin injected into the cavity. Such a mold temperature is determined by the tradeoff between transferability and an increase in the tact of a disk base molding cycle. Specifically, the mold temperature should be as low as possible for increasing the tact, but would degrade transferability if excessively low. On the other hand, a high mold temperature would enhance transferability, but would increase a period of time necessary for the resin to be cooled to a parting temperature and would thereby lower the yield of optical disks.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication Nos. 7-178774, 10-149587 and 6-259815 each propose to provide a mold or a stamper with a heat insulating ability so as to enhance both the transferability and the tact of the disk base forming cycle. Specifically, Laid-Open Publication No. 7-178774 teaches a heat insulating body removably positioned in a mold in such a manner as to face the rear of a stamper. Laid-Open Publication No. 10-149587 teaches a heat insulating ceramic layer formed on a mold in such a manner as to face the rear of a stamper. Further, Laid-Open Publication No. 6-259815 teaches a stamper whose front (transfer surface) is plated with Ni (nickel) containing 20% to 30% of polytetrafluoroethylene by electroless plating. Polytetrafluoroethylene has a grain size of 1.0 xcexcm or less. The resulting Ni film is 50 nm to 70 nm thick.
However, none of the above conventional technologies can enhance both the transferability and the tact of a disk base molding cycle at a high level. Laid-Open Publication No. 6-259815 has a problem that the Ni film formed on the transfer surface of a stamper obstructs the fine patterning of the transfer surface. Laid-Open Publication No. 10-149587 has a problem that the mold itself must be redesigned or replaced, wasting existing molding equipment.
Spin coating has customarily been used to coat a molded disk base with an organic pigment which forms a recording layer because spin coating is desirable from the easy process and low cost standpoint. While the thickness distribution of the recording layer can be controlled on the basis of coating conditions, it is difficult to control the distribution of the pigment in guide grooves. Specifically, to form the recording layer, a disk base is caused to spin such that a pigment solution sequentially spreads outward over the entire disk base due to a centrifugal force. However, the centrifugal force differs from one position to another position in the radial direction of the disk base. This, coupled with the fact that the solvent evaporates while spreading outward, causes the pigment to fill outer guide grooves more easily than inner guide grooves.
It follows that if the guide grooves of the disk base have a uniform configuration from the inner circumference to the outer circumference, the configuration of the guide grooves filled with the pigment differs from one position to another position in the radial direction. This scatters reflectance and tracking error and other signal characteristics and makes it difficult to produce constant quality, reliable optical disks. In addition, the resulting optical disks are not satisfactorily compatible with commercially available CD players.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication Nos. 5-198011 and 5-198012, for example, disclose implementations for correcting the above difference in configuration between the inner guide grooves and the outer guide grooves filled with the pigment. The implementations are such that the configuration (depth) of the guide grooves to be formed in a disk base or a stamper is intentionally varied beforehand. None of such implementations, however, gives consideration to the decrease in the fluidity of molten resin ascribable to temperature fall. Therefore, the implementations cannot realize desirable transferability alone when a high cycle is desired, aggravating the scattering of optical disks in signal characteristics.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to enhance both the transferability and the tact of a disk base molding cycle at the same time.
It is another object of the present invention to allow a transfer surface to be finely patterned.
It is yet another object of the present invention to make it needless for existing molding equipment to be redesigned or replaced.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an optical disk sufficiently compatible with commercially available CD players by allowing guide grooves filled with a pigment by spin coating to have a substantially uniform configuration at any position in the radial direction.
In accordance with the present invention, a stamper for molding an optical disk base includes a transfer surface for molding the optical disk base, and a heat insulating material extending in parallel to, but not contacting, the transfer surface.
Also, in accordance with the present invention, a method of producing a stamper for molding an optical disk base includes the steps of electroforming on a photoresist master having a transfer surface pattern an Ni layer having a transfer surface to which the transfer surface pattern is transferred, forming a heat insulating layer on the Ni layer, and separating the photoresist master from the Ni layer.
Further, in accordance with the present invention, a method of producing an optical disk base includes the steps of injecting molten resin into a cavity formed by a pair of mold parts and accommodating a stamper having a transfer surface for molding the optical disk base and a heat insulating layer extending in parallel to, but not contacting, the transfer surface, and separating the pair of mold parts to thereby remove the resin cooled off.
Furthermore, in accordance with the present invention, a method of producing an optical disk includes the steps of injecting molten resin into a cavity formed by a pair of mold parts and accommodating a stamper having a transfer surface for molding the optical disk base and a heat insulating layer extending in parallel to, but not contacting, the transfer surface, separating the pair of mold parts to thereby remove the resin cooled off, coating a transfer surface of the resin with a recording material to thereby form a light absorption layer, forming a reflection film on the light absorption film, and forming a protection film on the reflection film.
Moreover, in a method of producing an optical disk base, a heat insulating material is positioned beneath a recording area formed on the surface of a stamper for molding an optical disk.