Corning Incorporated

Michael Morgan Dunn

Paul Francis Michaloski

Brian Monroe McMaster

Paul Gerard Dewa

Todd Robert McMichael

Kevin John Magierski

Stephen Karl Mack

Robert Louis Michaels

Mark Ranney Westcott

Duncan Christopher Spaulding

Robert L Michaels

Stephen K Mack

A compound lens assembly and method for making a compound lens assembly useful for deep ultraviolet lithography are described. The compound lens assembly includes a first lens component having an optical surface bonded to an optical surface of a second lens component. The bonding at the interface can be achieved using a hydroxide catalysis bonding technique. The compound lens assembly and process for making same solve problems relating to constringence and/or inherent birefringence known for conventional optical elements used in deep ultraviolet lithography or inspection of wafers or reticles in the DUV.

Hydroxide-catalysis bonding of optical components used in DUV optical systems

The method of aligning a cylindrical lens in a lens assembly includes attaching the cylindrical lens to a lens fixture and interfacing the lens fixture to a support structure in which the cylindrical lens can be placed in a frontwards and backwards orientation. The method also includes capturing respective first and second line images of respective first and second focus lines as formed by the cylindrical lens in the forwards and backwards orientations. The method further includes establishing a relative orientation of the first and second line images and using the established relative orientation to determine an amount of angular misalignment of the cylindrical lens relative to a reference direction provided by the support structure. The method can include rotating the cylindrical lens relative to the lens fixture to reduce the amount of angular misalignment to be within an angular alignment tolerance.

Methods of aligning a cylindrical lens in a lens fixture and in an optical system

A polarization switching apparatus has a first birefringent polarizer formed as a composite prism and disposed to direct incident light of a first polarization along a first optical path and light of a second polarization along a second optical path, wherein the second optical path is oblique to the first optical path. A beam redirector is disposed to redirect the first optical path from the first birefringent polarizer toward an input face of a second birefringent polarizer; wherein the second birefringent polarizer is also formed as a composite prism and is disposed to combine incident light of the first and second polarizations onto a common output path. A shutter apparatus is actuable to selectively block light of the first polarization or light of the second polarization from the input face of the second birefringent polarizer.

Broadband polarization switching

Growing community of inventors

Palmyra, NY, United States of America

Michael Morgan Dunn