Method and apparatus for tracking error detection in optical disk driver

Abstract

A method and apparatus for tracking error detection in an optical disk reproduction system. The tracking error detecting apparatus generates a tracking error signal as a difference signal of optical detection signals generated by more than two optical detectors positioned along a diagonal line from a track center and includes binarizers which binarize each output of the optical detectors, phase locked loops (PLLs) which generate respective clock signals synchronized with the outputs of each of the binarizers, a phase difference detector which detects a phase difference between the synchronized signals output from the PLLs, and low-pass filters which filter the output of the phase difference detector to output the result as the tracking error signal. The tracking error detecting apparatus generates a tracking error signal which is not dependent on the lengths of pits or marks recorded on an optical disk, enhancing the reliability of the tracking error signal.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a divisional of prior application Ser. No. 09 / 613,695, filed Jul. 10, 2000, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. This application claims the benefit of Korean Application No. 99-27451, filed Jul. 8, 1999, in the Korean Patent Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for tracking error detection and more particularly, to an improved method and apparatus for tracking error detection in which a phase locked loop (PLL) is introduced into a conventional differential phase detection tracking error (DPD TE) method to increase the accuracy of tracking error detection. [0004] 2. Description of the Related Art [0005] In a conventional DPD TE method, phase differences are generated on the edges of pits or marks of an optical disk. The length of pits or marks...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011] In order to improve such drawbacks, a tracking error detecting method according to the present invention involves generating clock signals, synchronized with each of the binarized signals AC3 and BD3, to detect a phase difference between those clock signals. In this case, all pulses in the synchronized clock signals have the phase difference components of AC+ and BD+, so that a tracking error signal can be generated regardless of the lengths of pits or marks recorded on a disk.

[0013] It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of improving the accuracy of a tracking error detection with the introduction of a phase locked loop (PLL) into a conventional differential phase detection tracking error (DPD TE) method.

Problems solved by technology

In addition, as the track density of an optical disk increases, the magnitude and gain of a tracking error signal according to the conventional DPD TE method decrease.

Thus, the conventional DPD TE method has a disadvantage in that it is difficult to precisely control tracking in a high-density track structure.

Thus, a tracking error signal is generated by detecting the time delay between those signals.

If pits or marks are affected by defects of an optical disk or other factors, the gain and characteristics of a tracking error signal become worse.

Further, in the case of a tracking error signal according to the DPD TE method, the magnitude and gain are reduced as track density is increased, which makes the accurate control of tracking in a high track-density structure difficult.

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