Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Mitsubishi Materials Corporation

Toshiyuki Yoshihara

Hideki Anayama

Hideyuki Ainoya

Masaaki Hiro

Tomohiro Kimura

Itaru Yamazaki

Hidetoshi Hirano

Naoto Fujimura

Yoichi Kawamorita

Junichi Kishi

Masaru Nakagawa

Mayumi Kimura

Yuji Shinano

Nobuyuki Hanami

Kiyoshi Sakai

Tsutomu Kukimoto

Katsumi Aoki

Shuichi Aita

Shinya Mayama

Youzou Fukagawa

Yoshifumi Hano

Mario Nakamori

Tadayuki Tsuda

Yusuke Yamada

Isao Ikemoto

Akihiko Takeuchi

Satoshi Yoshida

Jun Iba

Koichi Tanigawa

Masaaki Hirooka

Hajime Miyazaki

Takashi Tanaka

Eiichi Imai

Hiroto Hasegawa

Hideyuki Takai

Takayasu Yuminamochi

Motoo Urawa

Masaki Kuribayashi

Tetsuro Kanemaru

Noboru Kashimura

Katsunori Watanabe

Kazushi Iuchi

Kazuyasu Hikita

Yasumasa Otsuka

Fumio Sumino

Yuichi Yashiki

Atsushi Shigenobu

Harumi Sakoh

Masafumi Hisamura

Keiji Kubo

Hiroyuki Iizuka

Yuki Nishio

Mutsuo Ohtaka

Norie Takebayashi

Kazuhiro Tadokoro

Mitsuru Miyamoto

Yoshiaki Uesu

Akihiro Sonobe

Motomu Horii

An exposure apparatus which includes a projection optical system and exposes a substrate to radiant energy via the projection optical system, includes a temperature measuring device configured to perform measurement of a temperature of a temperature measurement portion of the projection optical system, and a controller configured to perform prediction of a change in an optical characteristic of the projection optical system based on a change in temperature measured by the temperature measuring device, and to perform processing of reduction, based on the prediction, of a change in a state of an image formed on the substrate by the projection optical system, wherein the controller is configured to perform the prediction in accordance with a second-order lag response function to the change in temperature of the temperature measurement portion.

Exposure apparatus and method of manufacturing device

An exposure apparatus for exposing a substrate to a light comprises a projection optical system including an optical element and configured to project a light from an original onto the substrate, an adjusting device configured to adjust at least one of a position, an orientation and a shape of the optical element, and a controller configured to obtain an adjusting amount of the optical element based on a value of an objective function relating to an optical characteristic of the projection optical system, and to control the adjusting device based on the obtained adjusting amount. The objective function includes a variable which represents an upper limit of the adjusting amount.

Exposure apparatus and device manufacturing method

The present invention provides an exposure apparatus comprising a projection optical system including an optical element of which at least one of a position, orientation, and shape can be regulated, a regulator configured to regulate the at least one of the position, orientation, and shape of the optical element, and a controller configured to calculate, using quadratic programming, a regulation amount of the optical element that minimizes a value of an objective function expressed by a first dummy variable serving as an upper limit of a linear optical characteristic value of the projection optical system, and a second dummy variable serving as an upper limit of a quadratic optical characteristic value of the projection optical system, and to control the regulator based on the calculated regulation amount.

An optical apparatus which includes an image forming optical system having a movable optical element, and a driving mechanism configured to move the optical element. The apparatus includes a first block which measures a wavefront aberration of the optical system. A second block obtains a linear evaluation value of an aberration expressed by a linear function of a position of the movable optical element out of aberrations of the optical system, and a quadratic evaluation value of a square of a root mean square of the wavefront aberration measured by the first block expressed by a quadratic function of the position. A third block uses a dummy variable as an upper limit value of the linear evaluation value and obtains a minimum value of the dummy variable by a linear programming. A fourth block determines a position of the optical element to be moved by the driving mechanism.

Optical apparatus, method of determining position of optical element in optical system, and device manufacturing method

An optical apparatus including an image forming optical system having a movable optical element, and a driving mechanism. A first block obtains a linear evaluation value by normalizing, by a first tolerance, an aberration expressed by a linear function of a position of the movable optical element and normalizing, by a second tolerance, an aberration expressed by a quadratic function of the position out of the aberrations of the optical system. A second block obtains a minimum value of a dummy variable by linear programming. A third block determines a position of the optical element to be moved by the driving mechanism using a value prepared by adding a relaxation amount to the minimum value obtained by the second block and minimizes the weighted sum of the quadratic evaluation values by adjusting the weights assigned to the quadratic evaluation values and a relaxation amount.

A projection system for projecting a pattern of a mask onto a substrate. The projection system includes a projection optical system disposed between the mask and the substrate, and an optical element for correcting aberration produced in the projection optical system. The optical element has different refracting powers in two orthogonal directions or has a refracting power in one direction of two orthogonal directions and no refracting power in the other of the two orthogonal directions. The optical element is disposed between the mask and the substrate. An optical axis of the optical element is inclined with respect to an optical axis of the projection optical system.

Aberration correction optical system

An aberration changing optical system to be used with a projection optical system of a projection exposure apparatus, includes an optical element having at least one of a cylindrical surface and a toric surface and being rotatable about and tiltable to an optical axis of the optical system. In another form, the aberration changing optical system includes an optical element having different refracting powers in two orthogonal directions or having a refracting power only in one direction, the optical element being made rotatable about and tiltable to an optical axis of the optical system.

Aberration correcting optical system

An electrophotographic photosensitive member comprises a conductive support and a photosensitive layer which comprises a charge generation layer and a charge transport layer, characterized in that the charge generation layer contains a polycarbonate resin, and the electrophotographic photosensitive member is electrostatically charged by applying a direct current voltage to a charging member in contact with the surface of said electrophotographic photosensitive member.

Electrophotographic apparatus with DC contact charging and photosensitive layer with polycarbonate resin in charge generation layer

A cylindrical structure is formed by a cylinder and a terminal engaging member, such as a gear or flange for rotating the cylinder. The terminal engaging member has a head which is inserted into the cylinder and a plurality of recesses by which the member is fastened to at least one end of the cylinder through bending and cutting the assocrated cylinder at plural parts thereof into the recesses of the terminal engaging member. In this mannaer, the joint between the cylinder and the terminal engaging member can be formed securely in a simple manner. The cylindrical structure may be employed, for example, as a photosensitive drum or a developing sleeve for electrophotography.

Mechanically fastened cylindrical engaging member for use in an image

An image forming method includes forming an electrostatic latent image on an image bearing member having a surface of which contact angle with water is at least 90.degree., forming a toner layer on a toner carrying member, bringing the toner layer into contact with the surface of the image bearing member on which the electrostatic latent image has been formed, while rotating the image bearing member and the toner carrying member reciprocally, and developing the electrostatic latent image by the use of the toner of the toner layer to form a toner image.

Image forming method using a surface with a specified water contact

An electrophotographic apparatus includes an electrophotographic photosensitive member, a charging member, an imagewise exposure system, a developing system having a toner feed member, a transfer system, and a cleaning system wherein the electrophotographic photosensitive member includes a surface layer containing a lubricative, fluorine-containing resin powder and the toner feed member includes a spacer member coming into contact with the surface layer of the electrophotographic photosensitive member; and also a process cartridge than can be detachably mounted on the electrophotographic apparatus.

Electrophotographic apparatus and process cartridge featuring an

An electrophotographic image forming method including a toner image transfer step and eliminating an independent step for cleaning transfer residual toner is operated without causing ghost images and with good gradation and dot reproducibilities. In the method, the photosensitive member is exposed at an exposure intensity which is at least a minimum exposure intensity and below a maximum exposure intensity. The minimum exposure intensity is determined on a surface potential-exposure intensity characteristic curve of the photosensitive member by determining a first slope S1 of a straight line connecting a point giving a dark part potential Vd and a point giving a value of (Vd+ a residual potential Vr)/2, determining a contact point between a tangent line having a slope of S1/20 and the surface potential-exposure intensity characteristic curve and determining the minimum exposure intensity as an exposure intensity at the contact point. The maximum exposure intensity is determined as 5 times a half-attenuation exposure intensity.

Image forming method

An electrophotographic photosensitive member is disclosed which has an electroconductive support and a photosensitive layer formed thereon. The photosensitive member is electrified by applying voltage to an electrification means brought into contact therewith, and it has higher impedance (.OMEGA..cndot.cm) at an end portion than at other portion of the area where the photosensitive member is allowed to contact with the electrification means. Also, a process cartridge and an electrophotographic apparatus using the photosensitive member are disclosed.

Electrophotographic photosensitive member, and process cartridge and

An to an electrophotographic photosensitive member includes a photosensitive layer containing a specified oxytitanium phthalocyanine and a polyvinyl acetal resin having a structural unit represented by Formula: ##STR1## wherein X is a hydrogen atom, a fluorine atom, a chlorine atom, a bromine atom, a nitro group, or a cyano group; and Y is a fluorine atom, a chlorine atom, a bromine atom, a nitro group, or a cyano group. The photosensitive member maintains a low residual potential without deterioration of the sensitivity during repeated use.

Electrophotographic photosensitive member, and electrophotographic

An electrophotographic photosensitive member having a surface layer comprising a bisphenol Z-type polycarbonate resin is charged by contact charging. The charged electrophotographic photosensitive member is then subjected to imagewise exposure to form an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive member, the thus formed electrostatic latent image on the electrophotographic photosensitive member is developed. The electrophotographic photosensitive member shows good resistance to wearing and toner sticking when subjected to electrophotographic image formation including a contact charging process.

Electrophotographic image forming method, apparatus and device unit

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Kawasaki, Japan

Toshiyuki Yoshihara