A monolithic red/infrared semiconductor laser device is joined to a
blue-violet semiconductor laser device. The distance between a
blue-violet emission point in the blue-violet semiconductor laser device
and an infrared emission point in an infrared semiconductor laser device
is significantly shorter than the distance between a red emission point
in a red semiconductor laser device and the infrared emission point. A
blue-violet laser beam, a red laser beam, and an infrared laser beam
respectively emitted from the blue-violet emission point, the red
emission point, and the infrared emission point are introduced into a
photodetector after being incident on an optical disk by an optical
system comprising a polarizing beam splitter, a collimator lens, a beam
expander, a .lamda./4 plate, an objective lens, a cylindrical lens, and
an optical axis correction element.