Nikon Corporation

Nippon Kogaku K.k.

Yutaka Ichihara

Sumio Hashimoto

Nobutaka Magome

Yutaka Suenaga

Takashi Gemma

Naomasa Shiraishi

Akihiro Goto

Hideya Inoue

Hideo Mizutani

Hiroshi Shirasu

Kenji Toyoda

Toshio Matsuura

Akira Miyaji

Mikihiko Ishii

Atsumi Kasuya

Takao Watanabe

Tetsuo Takahashi

Yasuhiro Omura

Yoshijiro Ushio

Masami Ebi

Takashi Genma

Akikazu Tanimoto

Yuji Kudo

Katsuhiko Murakami

Masato Shibuya

Hisashi Okugawa

Keiji Ohsawa

Hideo Hara

Hiroshi Nishida

Seiro Murakami

Yutaka Iizuka

Motoo Koyama

Masatoshi Ikeda

Yoshikazu Sugiyama

Jun Kawakami

Daijiro Fujie

Katsumi Mizunoe

Satoru Kumagai

Yoshinori Kuroiwa

Jun Suzuki

Hisashi Shiozawa

Keiji Inada

Shiwen Li

Akira Higuchi

Shuji Toyonaga

Yasushi Fukutomi

Takaharu Miura

Shoji Ikshizaka

Shuji Kunimatsu

Tomonari Inaba

A display apparatus comprising a display panel including first and second display regions arranged in an alternating manner and respectively passing a first polarization component light and a second polarization component of incident light; a light source panel including first and second light sources arranged in an alternating manner and respectively emitting light of the first polarization component and light of the second polarization component to the back surface of the display panel; and a lenticular lens that is positioned between the display panel and the light source panel, refracts light from the first light sources in a direction of a first viewpoint to provide the first viewpoint with the light passed by the first display regions, and refracts light from the second light sources in a direction of a second viewpoint to provide the second viewpoint with the light passed by the second display regions.

Display apparatus and display method

Provided is an image processing apparatus that stereoscopically displays a two-dimensional image, comprising a generating section that generates a left-side image and a right-side image by shifting the two-dimensional image left and right in a display region; a right-edge processing section that attaches a right-edge image, which is displayed within a prescribed range from a right edge of the display region, to a right side of the left-side image; a left-edge processing section that attaches a left-edge image, which is displayed within a prescribed range from a left edge of the display region, to a left side of the right-side image; and an output section that outputs the left-side image with the right-edge image attached thereto to a left eye of a user and outputs the right-side image with the left-edge image attached thereto to a right eye of the user.

Image processing apparatus, image processing method, recording method, and recording medium

Provided is an image processing apparatus that stereoscopically displays a two-dimensional image, comprising a generating section that generates a left-side image and a right-side image by shifting the two-dimensional image left and right in a display region; and an output section that outputs the left-side image to a left eye of the user and the right-side image to a right eye of the user. The generating section generates the left-side image and the right-side image by shifting the two-dimensional image to the left and right within the display region by a distance no greater than a distance between pupils of a user.

In the inspection apparatus of this projection optical system, a folding glass member, comprising a flat surface part and a reflecting spherical surface part opposing to the flat surface part, is disposed on the image plane side of the projection optical system so that the flat surface part opposes to the projection optical system. Further, in a state wherein a liquid is supplied between the projection optical system and the folding glass member, a measuring beam emitted from an interferometer unit enters the projection optical system; the measuring beam that transmitted through the projection optical system and the liquid, and entered the folding glass member is reflected by the reflecting spherical surface part, and once again passes through the liquid and the projection optical system; and the interference fringes obtained from the measuring beam and the reference beam generated within the interferometer unit are detected.

Projection optical system inspecting method and inspection apparatus, and a projection optical system manufacturing method

A point diffraction interference measuring method comprises forming a substantially ideal spherical wave by using a point light source-generating unit, allowing a light flux composed of the spherical wave to pass through a test sample, thereafter dividing the light flux into two light fluxes by using an optical path-dividing element, allowing one light flux of the divided light fluxes to pass through a pinholeto covert the one light flux into a reference light beam which is a substantially ideal spherical wave, and detecting interference fringes generated by causing interference between the reference light beam and a measuring light beam which is the other light flux of the divided light fluxes. The wavefront aberration of the test sample can be measured by observing the interference fringes without being affected by the disturbance which would be otherwise caused by any system vibration or the like.

Method and apparatus for point diffraction interferometry

A mask stage RSand a substrate stage WSare synchronously moved, and a mask stage RSand a substrate stage RSare synchronously moved, in a state in which a mask on the mask stage RSand a mask on the mask stage RSare irradiated with illumination light beams from illumination optical systems IOP, IOPrespectively. The reaction force on a base board due to the movement of the stages can be canceled to suppress the vibration of an exposure apparatus by moving the mask stage RSand the mask stage RSin mutually opposite directions. The throughput can be improved by performing alignment operation on substrate stages WS, WSconcurrently with the exposure operation.

Exposure apparatus and methods utilizing plural mask and object stages movable in opposite directions, and methods of producing devices using the same

Microlithography apparatus and methods are disclosed for achieving high-resolution pattern transfer of a pattern onto a substrate, such as a semiconductor wafer, using extreme ultraviolet (EUV, also termed soft X-ray) radiation. The apparatus include an imaging-optical system (projection-optical system) capable of receiving pattern-encoding EUV light from a mask and forming an image of the pattern on the substrate. The desired wavelength of the EUV light is 20 nm to 50 nm, and the imaging-optical system includes multiple reflective mirrors having aspherical surficial profiles and multilayer-film reflective surfaces. The apparatus are configured especially to achieve a pattern-element resolution, of the projected image, of 70 nm or finer.

Multilayer-film reflective mirrors, extreme UV microlithography apparatus comprising same, and microelectronic-device manufacturing methods utilizing same

The present invention relates to a projection exposure apparatus ( ) for and method of imaging a reticle (R) having patterned surface onto a substrate (W) in photolithographic processes for manufacturing a variety of devices. The invention further relates to an optical system (C) having a folding member(M ) suited to the projection exposure apparatus, and a method for manufacturing the optical system. The projection exposure apparatus comprises an illumination optical system (IS) and a reticle stage (RS) capable of holding the reticle so the normal line to its patterned surface is in the direction of gravity. The apparatus also includes a substrate stage (WS) capable of holding the substrate with its surface normal parallel to the direction of gravity. The optical system includes a first imaging optical system (A) comprising a concave reflecting mirror and a dioptric optical member arranged along a first optical axis. The first imaging optical system (A) forms an intermediate image of the patterned surface. The optical system also includes a second imaging optical system (B) having a second optical axis, and forms a reduced image of the intermediate image on the substrate. The first folding member is arranged in the optical path from the first imaging optical system to the second imaging optical system. The first and second imaging optical systems and the first and second folding members are positioned so that a reduced image of the pattered surface is formed parallel to the pattern surface of the reticle, and the first and second optical axes are positioned so that they are substantially parallel to the direction of gravity.

Projection exposure apparatus and method

The present invention relates to a projection exposure apparatus (,) for and method of imaging a reticle (R) having patterned surface onto a substrate (W) in photolithographic processes for manufacturing a variety of devices. The invention further relates to an optical system (C) having a folding member (M1) suited to the projection exposure apparatus, and a method for manufacturing the optical system. The projection exposure apparatus comprises an illumination optical system (IS) and a reticle stage (RS) capable of holding the reticle so the normal line to its patterned surface is in the direction of gravity. The apparatus also includes a substrate stage (WS) capable of holding the substrate with its surface normal parallel to the direction of gravity. The optical system includes a first imaging optical system (A) comprising a concave reflecting mirror and a dioptric optical member arranged along a first optical axis. The first imaging optical system (A) forms an intermediate image of the patterned surface. The optical system also includes a second imaging optical system (B) having a second optical axis, and forms a reduced image of the intermediate image on the substrate. The first folding member is arranged in the optical path from the first imaging optical system to the second imaging optical system. The first and second imaging optical systems and the first and second folding members are positioned so that a reduced image of the pattered surface is formed parallel to the pattern surface of the reticle, and the first and second optical axes are positioned so that they are substantially parallel to the direction of gravity.

A catadioptric reduction projection optical system having a first lens unit having negative refractive power and widening a light beam from a reticle, a prism type beam splitter for transmitting therethrough a light beam from the first lens unit, a concave reflecting mirror for returning the light beam emerging from the beam splitter to the beam splitter while converging it, and a second lens unit having positive refractive power and converging the light beam returned to the beam splitter and reflected by the beam splitter, and forming the reduced image of a pattern on the reticle on a wafer.

Catadioptric reduction projection optical system and method

Apparatus and methods are disclosed for measuring wavefront aberrations microlithography projection lenses such as i-line or excimer laser projection lenses. The apparatus comprises an argon-ion laser irradiating a Fizeau surface that reflects reference light and transmits test light. The test light is reflected by a spherical reflecting surface to pass twice through the test lens and the Fizeau surface, to interfere with the reference light. A piezoelectric element changes the fringes slightly. An image-pickup device receives the interference fringes and outputs data to a processor that calculates corresponding wavefront aberrations of the test lens. For testing an i-line lens, the argon laser can be a single-mode, 363.8 nm laser. For testing a lens used with a KrF excimer laser, the argon laser can emit second-harmonic light at 248.25 nm.

Apparatus and methods for measuring wavefront aberrations of a

Catadioptric reduction projection optical system

A projection exposure apparatus projects the pattern of a reticle at a high resolution even when a wafer which is poor in flatness because of its warping or step is used. An illumination light beam emitted from a light source system illuminates a reticle through a condenser lens. The illumination light beam emerging from the reticle forms the intermediate image of the pattern of the reticle at a position near the reflecting surface of a reflecting mirror through a half prism and a projection lens. The illumination light beam reflected by the reflecting surface forms the pattern image of the reticle onto the surface of a wafer after passing through the projection lens and the half prism again. The shape of the reflecting surface of the reflecting mirror is changed to conform to the shape of the surface of the wafer.

Projection optical apparatus for projecting a mask pattern onto the

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Yokohama, Japan

Yutaka Ichihara