Sony Corporation

Asahi Kogaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Hiroshi Suganuma

Michio Oka

Shigeo Kubota

Koichi Maruyama

Minoru Takeda

Naoya Eguchi

Yutaka Imai

Makoto Iwaki

Syunitirou Wakamiya

Atsuhi Fukumoto

A hologram recording medium comprises a hologram recording layer for recording a hologram, and a wedge substrate for varying the propagating direction of a reference light and an object light incident upon the hologram recording medium. By rotating the hologram recording medium comprising the hologram recording layer and the wedge substrate, the propagating direction of the reference light and the object light are varied, whereby angle multiplex recording of holograms can be realized with ease.

Hologram recording medium, hologram recording/reconstructing apparatus, and hologram recording/reconstructing method

It is the object of the present invention to provide an optical element for controlling the polarization state spatially by using a liquid crystal and a method for manufacturing the same, and to provide an optical apparatus for correcting the polarization state in conformity with a particular purpose and method for manufacturing the same. The optical element for controlling the polarization state of light spatially by modifying directions of orientation of liquid crystal molecules caused by an oriented film and the optical apparatus by the use of the optical element are described. Orientation which is realized in the aforesaid oriented film for liquid crystal molecules is controlled by light irradiation with ultraviolet light etc. In irradiation, used is either of two methods: one method in which light irradiation is performed while the polarization state is being changed by using masks; the other method in which light irradiation is performed while the oriented film is being moved relative to the light irradiating means.

Optical element and method for manufacturing the same, and optical apparatus and method for manufacturing the same

The first reading beam identical to the first reference beam and the second reading beam conjugate to the second reference beam are simultaneously applied to a hologram recording medium on which holograms and have been recorded. A hologram is formed by interference between the first beam reproduced from the first reading beam and the second reading beam. Another hologram is formed by interference between the second beam reproduced from the second reading beam and the first reading beam. These holograms are recorded and superposed on the original holograms and thereby reproducing the original holograms and

Method of recording and reproducing hologram and apparatus for recording and reproducing hologram

To realize the reduction of the coherence of coherent light by an optical fiber bundle including optical fibers provided with the necessary minimum difference in optical path length, the coherence of coherent light is reduced via an optical fiber bundle in which plural multimode optical fibers having a difference in length exceeding the coherence length of an outgoing light beam are bundled or an optical fiber bundle in which plural multimode optical fibers having a difference in length exceeding 60 percent of the coherence length of incident coherent light are bundled.

Optical coherence reduction method and its device, illuminating method and its system and optical fiber bundle

The number of light sources and the number of divided light beams are optimized, so that a light beam with sufficiently reduced speckle contrast can be used as illuminating light. In an optical system for forming an image through a spatial modulator, laser light having a spectrum width of wave number and emitted from N (N is an integer not less than 1) light sources is guided to a fiber bundle so that the light is divided into M light beams (M is an integer not less than 2), a light path length difference of not less than a coherent distance is given to the respective light beams, and then, light axes are again aligned with each other to illuminate the spatial modulator, and when the light path length difference from one point on the spatial modulator to an image corresponding thereto has a standard deviation &sgr;,, the number M and the number N are set so that a relation expressed by the following expression A is satisfied:

Illuminating method and illuminating device

A UV image forming optical system includes a collimating lens for collimating light emitted from a UV light source, an imaging lens for forming an image of the collimated light transmitted through the collimating lens, and a beam splitting optical system positioned in an optical path of the collimated light between the collimating lens and the imaging lens. At least one of the collimated light emitted from the collimating lens and the light transmitted through the imaging lens, reflected by a reflector and transmitted again through the imaging lens is made incident upon an external viewing optical system.

UV image forming optical system

A object of the present invention is to provide an objective lens that two non spherical surfaces are combined and a numeral aperture is more than 0.7, and to provide an optical pick-up apparatus which can be used for an optical recording medium having high information recording density by using this objective lens. There is disclosed that a first surface is a rotating ellipse surface (a cone constant k: -1.ltoreq.k&lt;0), and curvature of the first surface, glass materials (refractive index) of a first lens 1 and a main plane interval d of the total of combination of two lenses are properly established to satisfy the fixed relational expression.

Objective lens and recording/reproducing apparatus

A light exposure illuminating apparatus is provided which, employing harmonics of a continuously outputted laser beam, is small-sized, inexpensive and free from speckles and which achieves a high light source utilization efficiency. Specifically, a harmonics generating 1 generates fourth harmonics which are reflected and swept via a scanning lens 2 by a polygonal mirror 3. A cylindrical reflecting mirror radiates the fourth harmonics reflected by the polygonal mirror 3 on an arcuate aperture formed in a light exposure mask by a sweeping movement. The light of fourth harmonics transmitted through the arcuate aperture reaches a reticle 7 set on a semiconductor pattern. The illuminating light passed through the reticle 7 is projected on a wafer 9 via a concave mirror 5 and a convex mirror 76. The area of light exposure may be increased since the reticle 7 and the wafer 9 are moved in synchronism with the scanning of the scanning optical system.

Light exposure and illuminating apparatus

An optical pick-up apparatus includes a light source, an objective lens, a beam splitter, a detector, a first optical compensating device and a second optical compensating device. The objective lens converges a light beam emitted from the light source at one point on an optical axis. The beam splitter separates the light beam emitted from the light source from a returning light reflected on an optical disc. The detector detects the returning light separated from the light beam emitted from the light source. The first optical compensating device has a convex aspherical surface represented by X.alpha.R.sup.4 and is located on an optical path where the light beam is emitted from the light source. The second optical compensating device has a concave aspherical surface represented by +.alpha.R.sup.4 and is located on an optical path where the light beam is emitted from the light source.

Apparatus and method for compensating coma aberration

A light exposure illuminating apparatus is provided which, employing harmonics of a continuously outputted laser beam, is small-sized, inexpensive and free from speckles and which achieves a high light source utilization efficiency. Specifically, a harmonics generating 1 generates light with fourth harmonics which are scanned by a scanning lens 2 and reflected and swept by a polygonal mirror 3. A cylindrical reflecting mirror radiates the sweeping fourth harmonics reflected by the polygonal mirror 3 onto an arcuate aperture formed in a light exposure mask. The light of fourth harmonics transmitted through the arcuate aperture reaches a reticle 7 set on a semiconductor pattern. The illuminating light passed through the reticle 7 is projected onto a wafer 9 via a concave mirror 5 and a convex mirror 76. The area of light exposure may be increased since the reticle 7 and the wafer 9 are moved in synchronism with the scanning of the scanning optical system.

A light exposure and illuminating device in which an outgoing light of an exposure light source is supplied to a light exposure section for illuminating an object to be exposed to light. A moving scattering medium scatters a laser beam outgoing from a laser light source. A light condenser lens condenses the laser beam scattered by the moving scattering medium to a laser beam of a suitable diameter. A plurality of prisms condense the laser light condensed by the light condenser lens as a rectangle of a suitable size on an incident surface of a fly-eye lens. The fly-eye lens uniforms the intensity distribution of the laser beam in cooperation with a folding lens. Another condenser lens radiates the laser beam uniformed in intensity distribution by the fly-eye lens and the firstly-stated condenser lens as a exposure illuminating light on a mask for light exposure on which a light exposure pattern is pre-formed. With the present light exposure illuminating device, a small-sized inexpensive light source may be realized. In addition, the illuminating light is uniform and free of fluctuations or speckles, while a high light source utilization efficiency may be achieved.

Growing community of inventors

Ibaragi, Japan

Hiroshi Suganuma