An exposure device and method based on LCOS chip

Abstract

An exposure device and method based on LCOS chip, the device includes a light source, a polarization beam splitter prism, a first LCOS chip, a second LCOS chip and an imaging lens, the first part of the pixel points in the first LCOS chip modulates a part of the P polarized light into S polarized light and then reflects it back to the polarization beam splitter prism, the first part of the pixel points in the second LCOS chip modulates a part of the S polarized light into P polarized light and then reflects it back to the polarization beam splitter prism, the S polarized light reflected back by the first LCOS chip and the P polarized light reflected back by the second LCOS chip pass through the polarization beam splitter prism light splitting interface respectively, overlap to form a polarization beam, and coaxially propagate into the imaging lens. Therefore, the exposure device of the present invention enables the light in the P polarization direction and the S polarization direction obtained by the light source after passing through the polarization beam splitter prism to be effectively utilized, improves the utilization efficiency of the light source light power and the exposure intensity, and is conducive to achieving the best performance of resolution, light power and efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to exposure technology, and in particular to an exposure device and method based on an LCOS chip. Background Art

[0002] The exposure machine is one of the key components commonly used in 3D printing and circuit board lithography. The resolution of the exposure machine is one of the important performance parameters of the exposure machine. In order to improve the resolution of the exposure machine, patent application 201810170660.2 discloses an exposure machine based on LCOS technology. The exposure machine uses LCOS chips to replace the DMD chips used in conventional exposure machines, providing a new idea for improving pixel resolution. However, since LCOS is a polarization device, when the light source passes through the PBS (polarization beam splitter) during modulation, only one polarization direction of light is effectively utilized, and the light in the other polarization direction is lost in vain, that is, only half of the light power is effective, resulting in low light power utilization efficiency, so that the overall equipment is inefficient, resulting in the reduction of the exposure intensity and efficiency of the two important parameters of the exposure machine.

[0003] It should be noted that the information disclosed in the above background technology section is only used for understanding the background of the present application, and therefore may include information that does not constitute prior art known to ordinary technicians in the field. Summary of the invention

[0004] The main purpose of the present invention is to overcome the defects of the above-mentioned background technology and provide an exposure device and method based on LCOS chip.

[0005] To achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0006] An exposure device based on an LCOS chip comprises a light source, a polarization beam splitter prism, a first LCOS chip, a second LCOS chip and an imaging lens, wherein the light emitted by the light source passes through the polarization beam splitter prism to form P polarized light transmitted along a first direction and S polarized light reflected along a second direction, the first LCOS chip is arranged in the first direction, the second LCOS chip is arranged in the second direction, and the optical path of the first LCOS chip and the second LCOS chip relative to the light source is consistent, wherein a first part of the pixels in the first LCOS chip modulate a part of the P polarized light into S polarized light and then reflect it back to the polarization beam splitter prism, The second part of the pixels in the first LCOS chip keeps another part of the P polarized light as P polarized light and reflects it back to the polarization beam splitter prism, the first part of the pixels in the second LCOS chip modulates a part of the S polarized light into P polarized light and reflects it back to the polarization beam splitter prism, and the second part of the pixels in the second LCOS chip keeps another part of the S polarized light as S polarized light and reflects it back to the polarization beam splitter prism; the S polarized light reflected by the first LCOS chip and the P polarized light reflected by the second LCOS chip respectively pass through the beam splitting interface of the polarization beam splitter prism, overlap to form a polarization beam combination, and coaxially propagate into the imaging lens.

[0007] Further:

[0008] The first part of the pixel points in the first LCOS chip and the first part of the pixel points in the second LCOS chip have the same corresponding coordinates on their respective chips, and the second part of the pixel points in the first LCOS chip and the second part of the pixel points in the second LCOS chip have the same corresponding coordinates on their respective chips.

[0009] A first portion of pixel points in the first LCOS chip and a first portion of pixel points in the second LCOS chip are displayed in reverse colors, and a second portion of pixel points in the first LCOS chip and a second portion of pixel points in the second LCOS chip are displayed in reverse colors.

[0010] A first portion of pixels in the first LCOS chip displays white, a second portion of pixels in the first LCOS chip displays black, a first portion of pixels in the second LCOS chip displays black, and a second portion of pixels in the second LCOS chip displays white.

[0011] A first portion of pixels in the first LCOS chip and a first portion of pixels in the second LCOS chip are displayed in the same color, a second portion of pixels in the first LCOS chip and a second portion of pixels in the second LCOS chip are displayed in the same color, and the first LCOS chip and the second LCOS chip have opposite modulation directions for polarized light.

[0012] A first portion of pixels in the first LCOS chip displays white, a second portion of pixels in the first LCOS chip displays black, a first portion of pixels in the second LCOS chip displays white, and a second portion of pixels in the second LCOS chip displays black.

[0013] The light source is non-polarized light, and the polarization beam splitter prism splits the non-polarized light into P-polarized light and S-polarized light.

[0014] The light source is polarized light, and its polarization direction forms an angle of 45° with the polarization direction of the polarization beam splitter prism. The polarization beam splitter prism decomposes the polarized light emitted by the light source into P polarized light and S polarized light.

[0015] The light source is preferably a homogeneous light source.

[0016] An exposure method based on an LCOS chip uses the exposure device based on an LCOS chip to perform exposure.

[0017] The present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0018] The present invention provides an exposure device based on LCOS chip, wherein a first LCOS chip is arranged in a first direction in which a polarization beam splitter prism transmits and propagates P polarized light, a second LCOS chip is arranged in a second direction in which a polarization beam splitter prism reflects and propagates S polarized light, and a first part of pixel points in the first LCOS chip modulates a part of the P polarized light into S polarized light and then reflects it back to the polarization beam splitter prism, a first part of pixel points in the second LCOS chip modulates a part of the S polarized light into P polarized light and then reflects it back to the polarization beam splitter prism, the S polarized light reflected back by the first LCOS chip and the P polarized light reflected back by the second LCOS chip respectively pass through the light splitting interface of the polarization beam splitter prism, overlap to form a polarization beam combination, and coaxially propagate into the imaging lens, thereby, the exposure device of the present invention enables the light in the P polarization direction and the S polarization direction obtained by the light source after passing through the PBS to be effectively utilized, thereby improving the light power utilization efficiency, thereby improving the efficiency and exposure intensity of the exposure device. The exposure device of the present invention can not only give full play to the high-resolution characteristics of the LCOS chip, but also fully utilize the optical power of the light source, which is beneficial to achieving optimal performance of the three important parameters of resolution, optical power and efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of an exposure device based on an LCOS chip according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] The following is a detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention. It should be emphasized that the following description is only exemplary and is not intended to limit the scope and application of the present invention.

[0021] It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "fixed to" or "disposed on" another element, it can be directly on the other element or indirectly on the other element. When an element is referred to as being "connected to" another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or indirectly connected to the other element. In addition, connection can be used for fixing as well as for coupling or communication.

[0022] It should be understood that the terms "length", "width", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", etc., indicating the orientation or position relationship, are based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the embodiments of the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0023] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the embodiments of the present invention, the meaning of "plurality" is two or more, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0024] See also Figure 1The embodiment of the present invention provides an exposure device based on an LCOS (liquid crystal on silicon) chip, comprising a light source 1, a polarization beam splitter prism 2 (PBS), a first LCOS chip 3, a second LCOS chip 4 and an imaging lens 5, wherein the light emitted by the light source 1 passes through the polarization beam splitter prism 2 to form P polarized light transmitted along a first direction and S polarized light reflected along a second direction, the first LCOS chip 3 is arranged in the first direction, the second LCOS chip 4 is arranged in the second direction, the optical path of the first LCOS chip 3 and the second LCOS chip 4 relative to the light source 1 is consistent, and a first part of the pixels in the first LCOS chip 3 modulates a part of the P polarized light into S polarized light and then reflects it back to the polarization beam splitter prism. 2, the second part of the pixels in the first LCOS chip 3 keeps the other part of the P polarized light as P polarized light and reflects it back to the polarization beam splitter prism 2, the first part of the pixels in the second LCOS chip 4 modulates a part of the S polarized light into P polarized light and reflects it back to the polarization beam splitter prism 2, and the second part of the pixels in the second LCOS chip 4 keeps the other part of the S polarized light as S polarized light and reflects it back to the polarization beam splitter prism 2; the S polarized light reflected by the first LCOS chip 3 and the P polarized light reflected by the second LCOS chip 4 pass through the splitting interface of the polarization beam splitter prism 2 respectively, overlap to form a polarization beam combination, coaxially propagate into the imaging lens 5, and are projected onto the exposure projection surface 6 after passing through the imaging lens 5. In addition, the P polarized light reflected by the first LCOS chip 3 is transmitted and propagated through the PBS splitting surface and does not enter the imaging lens 5; the S polarized light reflected by the second LCOS chip 4 is reflected and propagated at the PBS splitting surface and does not enter the imaging lens 5.

[0025] In the exposure device based on the LCOS chip of the embodiment of the present invention, the first LCOS chip 3 is arranged in the first direction of the polarization beam splitter prism 2 transmitting and propagating P polarized light, the second LCOS chip 4 is arranged in the second direction of the polarization beam splitter prism 2 reflecting and propagating S polarized light, and the first part of the pixels in the first LCOS chip 3 modulates a part of the P polarized light into S polarized light and then reflects it back to the polarization beam splitter prism 2, and the first part of the pixels in the second LCOS chip 4 modulates a part of the S polarized light into P polarized light and then reflects it back to the polarization beam splitter prism 2, the S polarized light reflected by the first LCOS chip 3 and the P polarized light reflected by the second LCOS chip 4 respectively pass through the splitting interface of the polarization beam splitter prism 2, overlap to form a polarization beam, and coaxially propagate into the imaging lens 5. Therefore, the exposure device of the embodiment of the present invention enables the light in the P polarization direction and the S polarization direction obtained by the light source 1 after passing through the PBS to be effectively utilized, thereby improving the utilization efficiency of the light source light power, thereby improving the efficiency and exposure intensity of the exposure device. The exposure device of the present invention can not only give full play to the high-resolution characteristics of the LCOS chip, but also fully utilize the optical power of the light source, and can achieve the best performance by achieving the three important parameters of resolution, optical power and efficiency.

[0026] In a preferred embodiment, the first part of the pixel points in the first LCOS chip 3 and the first part of the pixel points in the second LCOS chip 4 have the same corresponding coordinates on their respective chips, and the second part of the pixel points in the first LCOS chip 3 and the second part of the pixel points in the second LCOS chip 4 have the same corresponding coordinates on their respective chips.

[0027] In one embodiment, a first portion of pixel points in the first LCOS chip 3 and a first portion of pixel points in the second LCOS chip 4 are displayed in reverse colors, and a second portion of pixel points in the first LCOS chip 3 and a second portion of pixel points in the second LCOS chip 4 are displayed in reverse colors.

[0028] In a further preferred embodiment, a first portion of pixels in the first LCOS chip 3 displays white, a second portion of pixels in the first LCOS chip 3 displays black, a first portion of pixels in the second LCOS chip 4 displays black, and a second portion of pixels in the second LCOS chip 4 displays white.

[0029] In another embodiment, a first portion of pixel points in the first LCOS chip 3 and a first portion of pixel points in the second LCOS chip 4 are displayed in the same color, a second portion of pixel points in the first LCOS chip 3 and a second portion of pixel points in the second LCOS chip 4 are displayed in the same color, and the first LCOS chip 3 and the second LCOS chip 4 have opposite modulation directions for polarized light.

[0030] In a further preferred embodiment, a first portion of pixels in the first LCOS chip 3 displays white, a second portion of pixels in the first LCOS chip 3 displays black, a first portion of pixels in the second LCOS chip 4 displays white, and a second portion of pixels in the second LCOS chip 4 displays black.

[0031] In some embodiments, the light source 1 may be non-polarized light, and the polarization beam splitter prism 2 splits the non-polarized light into P-polarized light and S-polarized light.

[0032] In other embodiments, the light source 1 may also be polarized light, whose polarization direction forms an angle of 45° with the polarization direction of the polarization beam splitter prism 2, and the polarization beam splitter prism 2 decomposes the polarized light emitted by the light source 1 into P polarized light and S polarized light.

[0033] In a preferred embodiment, the light source 1 is a uniform light source, and specifically can be a fly-eye lens uniform light source or a light guide plate uniform light source.

[0034] An exposure method based on an LCOS chip uses the exposure device based on an LCOS chip to perform exposure.

[0035] The specific embodiments of the present invention are further described below.

[0036] like Figure 1 As shown, the exposure device based on the LCOS chip includes a light source 1, a polarization beam splitter prism 2 (PBS), a first LCOS chip 3, a second LCOS chip 4 and an imaging lens 5. The light source can generally use non-polarized light, and the polarization beam splitter prism can split the non-polarized light into P polarized light and S polarized light. For a polarized light source, the polarization direction can be selected to form a 45° angle with the polarization beam splitter prism selection direction, so that the polarized light is decomposed into P polarized light and S polarized light. The light source is preferably a homogenous light source. The homogenous light source can be a compound eye lens homogenous light source or a light guide plate homogenous light source.

[0037] The first LCOS chip 3 and the second LCOS chip 4 are the same chip. The optical path of the first LCOS chip 3 and the second LCOS chip 4 relative to the light source 1 is consistent. After the light emitted by the light source 1 is reflected by the first LCOS chip 3 and the second LCOS chip 4, the images modulated by the first LCOS chip 3 and the second LCOS chip 4 are combined at the light splitting surface of the PBS, and the combined image is imaged onto the exposure projection surface 6 through the imaging lens 5.

[0038] The P-polarized light transmitted through the polarization beam splitter prism 2 is modulated by the first LCOS chip 3 for image modulation, and the light reflected back by a part of the pixels of the first LCOS chip 3 is S-polarized light, and the light reflected back by another part of the pixels of the first LCOS chip 3 is P-polarized light. The S-polarized light reflected by the polarization beam splitter prism 2 is modulated by the second LCOS chip 4 for image modulation, and the light reflected back by a part of the pixels of the second LCOS chip 4 is P-polarized light, and the light reflected back by another part of the pixels of the second LCOS chip 4 is S-polarized light.

[0039] In one embodiment, the first LCOS chip 3 and the second LCOS chip 4 are controlled to display in reverse colors, that is, for the pixel points on the first LCOS chip 3 that need to be displayed as white, the pixel points at the same coordinates on the second LCOS chip 4 display as black dots; and for the pixel points on the first LCOS chip 3 that need to be displayed as black, the pixel points at the same coordinates on the second LCOS chip 4 display as white dots.

[0040] In this embodiment, the reflected light positions of the pixels with the same coordinates on the first LCOS chip 3 and the second LCOS chip 4 coincide when passing through the PBS. The P-polarized light received by the white pixel on the first LCOS chip 3 undergoes image modulation by the first LCOS chip 3, and the reflected light becomes S-polarized light, which is reflected and propagated along the PBS light splitting interface; the S-polarized light received by the black pixel at the same coordinate on the second LCOS chip 4 undergoes image modulation by the second LCOS chip 4, and the reflected light changes its polarization state and becomes P-polarized light, which is transmitted and propagated along the PBS light splitting interface. In this way, the S-polarized light and P-polarized light reflected by the pixels with the same coordinates on the two chips (the white pixel on the first LCOS chip 3 and the corresponding black pixel on the second LCOS chip 4) respectively propagate toward the imaging lens 5 through the PBS light splitting interface, and the S-polarized light and the P-polarized light overlap to form a polarization beam, which propagates coaxially into the imaging lens 5.

[0041] On the other hand, the black pixels of the first LCOS chip 3 do not change the polarization state of the received P polarized light, and the reflected P polarized light is transmitted and propagated through the PBS splitter surface; and the S polarized light received by the white pixels of the second LCOS chip 4 at the same coordinates as the first LCOS chip 3 is modulated by the second LCOS chip 4, and the reflected light does not change the polarization state, and is still S polarized light, so that the light is reflected and propagated at the PBS splitter surface. Therefore, the reflected light of these pixel points at the same coordinate positions of the two chips (the black pixel points on the first LCOS chip 3 and the corresponding white pixel points on the second LCOS chip 4) does not enter the imaging lens 5.

[0042] In another embodiment, the first LCOS chip 3 and the second LCOS chip 4 are of the same size and pixel properties, and the first LCOS chip 3 and the second LCOS chip 4 are controlled to display the same color, that is, for the pixel points on the first LCOS chip 3 that need to display white, the pixel points at the same coordinates on the second LCOS chip 4 also display white; and for the pixel points on the first LCOS chip 3 that need to display black, the pixel points at the same coordinates on the second LCOS chip 4 also display black, but the liquid crystal of the first LCOS chip 3 and the liquid crystal of the second LCOS chip 4 have opposite modulation directions for polarized light, so the first LCOS chip 3 and the chip can be controlled by the same signal, and two opposite polarization states can be obtained at the same pixel.

[0043] In this embodiment, the reflected light of the pixel points with the same coordinates on the first LCOS chip 3 and the second LCOS chip 4 coincides with the reflected light position when passing through the PBS. The P-polarized light received by the white pixel points on the first LCOS chip 3 undergoes image modulation by the first LCOS chip 3, and the reflected light becomes S-polarized light, which is reflected and propagated along the PBS spectroscopic interface; the S-polarized light received by the white pixel points with the same coordinates on the second LCOS chip 4 undergoes image modulation by the second LCOS chip 4, and the reflected light changes its polarization state and becomes P-polarized light, which is transmitted and propagated along the PBS spectroscopic interface. In this way, the S-polarized light and the P-polarized light reflected by the white pixel points with the same coordinates on the first LCOS chip 3 and the second LCOS chip 4 respectively propagate toward the imaging lens 5 through the PBS spectroscopic interface, and the S-polarized light and the P-polarized light overlap to form a polarization beam, which propagates coaxially into the imaging lens 5.

[0044] On the other hand, the black pixels of the first LCOS chip 3 do not change the polarization state of the received P polarized light, and the reflected P polarized light is transmitted and propagated through the PBS splitter surface; and the S polarized light received by the black pixels of the second LCOS chip 4 at the same coordinates as the first LCOS chip 3 is modulated by the second LCOS chip 4, and the reflected light does not change the polarization state, and is still S polarized light, so that the light is reflected and propagated at the PBS splitter surface, thereby, the reflected light of the black pixels at the same position of the two chips does not enter the imaging lens 5.

[0045] The background section of the present invention may contain background information about the problem or environment of the present invention, but does not necessarily describe the prior art. Therefore, the content included in the background section is not an admission by the applicant that the prior art is available.

[0046] The above content is a further detailed description of the present invention in combination with specific / preferred embodiments, and it cannot be determined that the specific implementation of the present invention is limited to these descriptions. For ordinary technicians in the technical field to which the present invention belongs, without departing from the concept of the present invention, it can also make several substitutions or modifications to these described embodiments, and these substitutions or modifications should be regarded as belonging to the protection scope of the present invention. In the description of this specification, the description of the reference terms "an embodiment", "some embodiments", "preferred embodiments", "examples", "specific examples", or "some examples" means that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in combination with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, the schematic representation of the above terms does not necessarily target the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described can be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner. In the absence of mutual contradiction, those skilled in the art can combine and combine the different embodiments or examples described in this specification and the features of different embodiments or examples. Although the embodiments of the present invention and their advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and modifications can be made herein without departing from the scope of protection of the patent application.

Claims

1. An exposure device based on LCOS chip, characterized in that: The invention comprises a light source, a polarization beam splitter prism, a first LCOS chip, a second LCOS chip and an imaging lens, wherein the light emitted by the light source forms P polarized light transmitted and propagated along a first direction and S polarized light reflected and propagated along a second direction after passing through the polarization beam splitter prism, the first LCOS chip is arranged in the first direction, the second LCOS chip is arranged in the second direction, and the optical path of the first LCOS chip and the second LCOS chip relative to the light source is consistent, wherein a first part of the pixels in the first LCOS chip modulates a part of the P polarized light into S polarized light and then reflects it back to the polarization beam splitter prism, a second part of the pixels in the first LCOS chip keeps another part of the P polarized light as P polarized light and reflects it back to the polarization beam splitter prism, a first part of the pixels in the second LCOS chip modulates a part of the S polarized light into P polarized light and then reflects it back to the polarization beam splitter prism, a second part of the pixels in the second LCOS chip keeps another part of the S polarized light as S polarized light and reflects it back to the polarization beam splitter prism; The S polarized light and the P polarized light reflected by the second LCOS chip pass through the splitting interface of the polarization splitting prism respectively, overlap to form a polarization beam, and coaxially propagate into the imaging lens; the first part of the pixels in the first LCOS chip and the first part of the pixels in the second LCOS chip have the same corresponding coordinates on their respective chips, and the second part of the pixels in the first LCOS chip and the second part of the pixels in the second LCOS chip have the same corresponding coordinates on their respective chips; wherein the first part of the pixels in the first LCOS chip and the first part of the pixels in the second LCOS chip are displayed in reverse colors, and the second part of the pixels in the first LCOS chip and the second part of the pixels in the second LCOS chip are displayed in reverse colors, or wherein the first part of the pixels in the first LCOS chip and the first part of the pixels in the second LCOS chip are displayed in the same color, and the second part of the pixels in the first LCOS chip and the second part of the pixels in the second LCOS chip are displayed in the same color, and the first LCOS chip and the second LCOS chip have opposite modulation directions for polarized light.

2. The exposure device based on LCOS chip according to claim 1, characterized in that: A first portion of pixels in the first LCOS chip displays white, a second portion of pixels in the first LCOS chip displays black, a first portion of pixels in the second LCOS chip displays black, and a second portion of pixels in the second LCOS chip displays white.

3. The exposure device based on LCOS chip according to claim 1, characterized in that: A first portion of pixels in the first LCOS chip displays white, a second portion of pixels in the first LCOS chip displays black, a first portion of pixels in the second LCOS chip displays white, and a second portion of pixels in the second LCOS chip displays black.

4. The LCOS chip-based exposure device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The light source is non-polarized light, and the polarization beam splitter prism splits the non-polarized light into P-polarized light and S-polarized light.

5. The LCOS chip-based exposure device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The light source is polarized light, and its polarization direction forms an angle of 45° with the polarization direction of the polarization beam splitter prism. The polarization beam splitter prism decomposes the polarized light emitted by the light source into P polarized light and S polarized light.

6. An exposure method based on LCOS chip, characterized in that: Exposure is performed using an exposure device based on an LCOS chip as described in any one of claims 1 to 5.

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