Nikon Corporation

Noriaki Yamamoto

Takashi Mori

Osamu Tanitsu

Tetsuo Kikuchi

Hideki Komatsuda

Hiroshi Shirasu

Tomohide Hamada

Masamitsu Yanagihara

Tsuyoshi Naraki

An illumination optical apparatus for illuminating an object to be illuminated in an arcuate or rectangular shape. A first optical integrator forms a plurality of light source images in a substantially linear arrangement, based on a beam of parallel rays. Then a second optical integrator forms a plurality of light source images in a substantially square arrangement, based on the beam from the first optical integrator. A relay optical system is disposed between the first and second optical integrator, and makes a position of the light source images formed by the first optical cintegrator conjugate with a position of the light source images formed by the second optical integrator.

Illumination optical apparatus and scanning exposure apparatus

An illumination optical apparatus includes a light source emitting an illumination light beam, the illumination light beam being directed along a predetermined optical path, a variable optical filter disposed on the predetermined optical path of the illumination light beam for controlling the intensity of the illumination light beam, a transmissivity of the variable optical filter with respect to the illumination light beam being continuously variable, and an optical integrator receiving the illumination light beam that has passed through the variable optical filter to form a plurality of images of the light source.

Illumination optical apparatus with optical integrator

An illumination optical apparatus according to the present invention comprises a light source, a collector mirror having an ellipsoidal surface of revolution for reflecting and collecting light from the light source, a collimator lens for converting the light collected by the collector mirror into nearly parallel beams, an optical integrator for producing a plurality of light source images from the beams outgoing from the collimator lens, and a condenser lens for condensing light from the plurality of light source images to illuminate a body to be illuminated in a superimposed manner. Wherein the collimator lens is arranged to satisfy the following condition, R.sub.max &lt;f.sub.col .multidot.sin u.sub.max ; where f.sub.col is a focal length of the condenser lens, u.sub.max a maximum angle of incidence of the light incident into the collimator lens, and R.sub.max a maximum beam radius of the nearly parallel beams collimated by the collimator lens.

Illumination optical apparatus

An illumination optical apparatus of this invention is small in size as a whole and capable of illuminating a plurality of illumination areas on a mask. The illumination optical apparatus illuminates a plurality of areas on a mask to be projected/exposed. This apparatus includes at least two light sources, a focusing optical system for focusing light beams from the respective light sources to form light source images, a light guide having incident ends equal in number to the light sources and exit ends equal in number to the illumination areas and serving to guide light beams from the respective light source images incident on the incident ends to the exit ends, and an illumination optical system for irradiating the light beams from the respective light source images emerging from the exit ends of the light guide onto the corresponding areas on the mask. The light guide is constituted by a plurality of optical fibers bundled together and divides light beams to make the amounts of light beams at the respective exit ends almost equal to each other.

Illumination optical apparatus and scanning exposure apparatus using the

An exposure apparatus comprises a plurality of illumination optical systems for generating a plurality of light beams, a plurality of projection optical systems disposed corresponding to the plurality of illumination optical systems, respectively, a plurality of light intensity detectors, provided respectively for the plurality of illumination optical systems, for detecting individual intensities of the plurality of light beams, a light intensity changing device for changing the respective intensities of the plurality of light beams, and a control device for controlling the light intensity changing device and uniformizing the intensities of the plurality of light beams to a substantially fixed level.

Growing community of inventors

Kitakatsushika-gun, Japan

Noriaki Yamamoto