Nikon Corporation

Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Nippon Kogaku K.k.

Kinya Kato

Akira Kuriyama

Masaki Kato

Masanori Sakuranaga

Masahiro Kawaguchi

Masashi Tanaka

Hiroshi Shirasu

Hiroshi Chiba

Masato Kumazawa

Takeshi Imamura

Etsuko Sugawa

Nobuko Yamamoto

Harumi Iwashita

Kei Nara

Shinya Kozaki

Junji Ohyama

Tsunehiro Kanno

Takashi Mori

Akihiro Goto

Toru Takagi

Osamu Tanitsu

Kazuya Okamoto

Hirohisa Tanaka

Yasuko Tomida

Yuji Kawabata

Hiroshi Nishimura

Naoto Kihara

Yasutsugu Yamada

Norio Miyake

Junji Ikeda

Hiroshi Kubo

Fuminori Hayano

Hiroyoshi Kishi

Yukio Kakizaki

Kazunori Imamura

Toshihiko Miura

Masami Seki

Sunao Murata

Muneki Hamashima

Tetsuya Yano

Toshiyuki Komatsu

Akikazu Tanimoto

Koichi Matsumoto

Kyoichi Suwa

Tomohide Hamada

Kazumi Tanaka

Kazuo Ushida

Takeo Oomori

Kazuaki Saiki

Kazumasa Endo

Miho Matsumoto

Junji Hazama

Yoshikazu Sugiyama

Tsuyoshi Narabe

Hisao Izawa

Koichi Ohno

Shigeru Takemoto

Yoshikazu Hirayama

Toshiyuki Namikawa

Kazuhiro Takaoka

Tatsumi Ishizeki

Yumi Nakagawa

Hiroyuki Tsuchiya

Hiroaki Iseya

Masahi Tanaka

Kou Sekiba

An illumination optical system which illuminates an illumination objective surface with a light from a light source. The illumination optical system includes a spatial light modulator which includes a plurality of optical elements arranged within a predetermined plane and controlled individually, and which forms a light intensity distribution in an illumination pupil of the illumination optical system; and a polarization unit which is arranged in a position optically conjugate with the predetermined plane, and which polarizes an incident light beam having a first and second partial light beams, coming into the polarization unit such that the first and second partial light beams have polarization states different from each other, and emits the polarized incident light beam as an outgoing light beam, wherein the polarization unit changes, in a cross section of the outgoing light beam, a ratio between a cross sectional areas of the first and second partial light beams.

Illumination optical system, exposure apparatus, device production method, and light polarization unit

An illumination optical system includes a first spatial light modulator having a plurality of optical elements into which the light from the light source comes, a polarizing member having a first polarizing element into which a first light of a light from the first spatial light modulator comes and a second polarizing element into which a second light of the light from the first spatial light modulator comes, so as to allow the first light traveled via the first polarizing element and the second light traveled via the second polarizing element to have polarizing states different from each other, the first and second lights traveling through positions relative to an optical axis of the illumination optical system different from each other, and a second spatial light modulator having a plurality of optical elements into which the first and second lights from the polarizing member come.

Illumination optical assembly, exposure device, and device manufacturing method

An illumination optical system includes a fly's-eye lens having a back focal plane arranged on a pupil plane of the illumination optical system or in a vicinity of the pupil plane; a first spatial light modulator which is arranged on an incident side of the fly's-eye lens and which includes a plurality of first mirror elements; a first optical system arranged in an optical path between the first spatial light modulator and the fly's-eye lens; a second spatial light modulator arranged in an optical path between the first optical system and the fly's-eye lens and which includes a plurality of second mirror elements; and a polarizing element arranged in the optical path between the first spatial light modulator and the fly's-eye lens.

There is provided an illumination optical system for illuminating an illumination objective surface. The illumination optical system includes a first spatial light modulator which has a plurality of optical elements arranged on a first plane, a polarizing member which is arranged in an optical path on an illumination objective surface side with respect to the first plane and which gives a polarization state change to a first light beam passes through a first area in a plane intersecting an optical axis of the illumination optical system, the polarization state change being different from a polarization state change given to a second light beam passes through a second area in the intersecting plane, and a second spatial light modulator which has a plurality of optical elements controlled individually and arranged on a second plane, and which variably forms a light intensity distribution on an illumination pupil of the illumination optical system.

A catadioptric imaging lens includes: a first reflecting mirror; a second reflecting mirror; and a lens group. A reflecting surface of the first reflecting mirror is a rotationally asymmetrical aspherical, with concavity on the object side within the reference and the first orthogonal plane. A reflecting surface of the second reflecting mirror is a rotationally asymmetrical aspherical, with convexity toward the first reflecting mirror within the reference and within the second orthogonal plane. A surface in the lens group closest to the second reflecting mirror is a rotationally asymmetrical aspherical, with concavity toward the second reflecting mirror within the reference plane and convexity toward the second reflecting mirror within the third orthogonal plane.

Catadioptric imaging lens

A reference sphere detecting device used for a reference sphere position detecting device comprises an optical unit having a laser light source, a collective lens for collecting light from the laser light source and irradiating the light to a reference sphere positioned at or near a front focal position, a first image pickup device for receiving and detecting reflected light from the reference sphere, the first image pickup device being disposed at a rear focal position of the collective lens; driving units for rotationally moving the optical unit about a reference point; and a control unit for controlling the driving units on the basis of the position at which the reflected light is received and rotationally moving the optical unit so that the reflected light reaches a predetermined reference position of the first image pickup device.

Reference sphere detecting device, reference sphere position detecting device, and three-dimensional-coordinate measuring device

An apparatus includes a plurality of projection optical systems, each including optical elements arranged in an optical path between a first plane and a second plane and forming a radiation pattern from the first plane onto an exposure field on the second plane via the optical elements. A movable portion is disposed in the side of the second plane with respect to the projection optical systems, which holds an object to be moved relative to the exposure field in a first direction in the second plane during scanning exposure of the object in which the radiation patterns are formed on the object as the object is moved in the first direction. The projection optical systems may include an adjustable wedge prism. The projection optical systems may include first and second optical units, optical axes of the first and second optical units being decentered from each other.

Exposure apparatus, optical projection apparatus and a method for adjusting the optical projection apparatus

An exposure apparatus includes a plurality of projection optical systems, each of which has optical elements arranged in an optical path between a first surface and a second surface and forms a radiation pattern from the first surface onto an exposure field on the second surface via the optical elements. The apparatus also includes a movable portion disposed in the side of the second surface with respect to the plurality of projection optical systems, which holds an object to be moved relative to the exposure field in a first direction during a scanning exposure of the object with the radiation patterns. Each of the plurality of projection optical systems is telecentric on the side of the second surface, and the exposure fields are arranged at different positions in a second direction crossing the first direction.

Charged-particle-beam (CPB) mapping projection-optical systems and adjustment methods for such systems are disclosed that can be performed quickly and accurately. In a typical system, an irradiation beam is emitted from a source, passes through an irradiation-optical system, and enters a Wien filter ('E&#xd7;B'). Upon passing through the E&#xd7;B, the irradiation beam passes through an objective-optical system and is incident on an object surface. Such impingement generates an observation beam that returns through the objective-optical system and the E&#xd7;B in a different direction to a detector via an imaging-optical system. An adjustment-beam source emits an adjustment beam used for adjusting and aligning the position of, e.g., the object surface and/or the Wien's condition of the E&#xd7;B. The adjustment beam can be off-axis relative to the objective-optical system. For such adjusting and aligning, fiducial marks (situated, e.g., in the plane of the object surface) can be used that are optimized for the CPB-optical system and the off-axis optical system. Desirably, the image formed on the detector when electrical voltage and current are not applied to the E&#xd7;B is in the same position as the image formed on the detector when electrical voltage and current are applied to the E&#xd7;B. Also provided are 'evaluation charts' for use in such alignments that do not require adjustment of the optical axis of the irradiation-optical system, and from which the kinetic-energy distribution of the emitted adjustment beam is stable.

Charged-particle-beam mapping projection-optical systems and methods for adjusting same

A decomposition apparatus that decomposes a decomposition target is provided. The decomposition apparatus includes a decomposition chamber having a decomposition section that continuously decomposes the decomposition target, an introducing device that continuously introduces the decomposition target into the decomposition chamber, a discharging device that discharges decomposition products produced in the decomposition chamber, and a selection section that selects a set of drive conditions from a plurality of sets of conditions for the decomposition section such that the concentration of the decomposition target within the decomposition chamber during decomposition of the decomposition target is at the predetermined concentration. When the concentration of the decomposition target is the predetermined concentration during decomposition in the decomposition section under the set of drive conditions selected by the selection section, the amount per unit time of the decomposition target that is taken into the liquid within the decomposition chamber is in equilibrium with the amount per unit time of the decomposition target that is decomposed within the decomposition chamber.

Decomposition apparatus and decomposition method

A method for decomposing a gaseous aliphatic hydrocarbon halide compound more simply is provided. The method includes the steps of mixing the gaseous aliphatic hydrocarbon halide compound and a chlorine gas-containing gas and emitting light to a mixture gas of the gaseous aliphatic hydrocarbon halide compound and the chlorine gas.

Apparatus for decomposing gaseous aliphatic hydrocarbon halide compounds

There is provided a method of treating a substance to be degraded comprising the steps of: degrading the substance to produce a degraded product; contacting the product obtained in the degrading step with a liquid; and entrapping a component of the product not trapped by the liquid in a medium by contacting the component with the medium. Also, the apparatus for conducting the method is provided.

Method of treating substance to be degraded and its apparatus

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Yokohama, Japan

Kinya Kato