An optical pickup comprising: a diffraction grating, a beam splitter and laser
beam guiding optical components that change direction of laser beams, which are
placed on a light path constituted by a semiconductor laser that emits dual wavelength
laser beams and an information recording surface of an optical disk, wherein a
wavelength plate is provided on a light path between said diffraction grating and
said semiconductor laser so that a laser beam irradiated on the recording surface
of said optical disk becomes an elliptically polarized (including circularly polarized)
beam or a beam having a polarizing plane that produces an angle of 30-60 degrees
relative to a radius direction.