4678 results about "Projection lens" patented technology

Improvements in the fabrication of integrated circuits are driven by the decrease of the size of the features printed on the wafers. Current lithography techniques limits have been extended through the use of phase-shifting masks, off-axis illumination, and proximity effect correction. More recently, liquid immersion lithography has been proposed as a way to extend even further the limits of optical lithography. This invention described a methodology based on contact printing using a projection lens to define the image of the mask onto the wafer. As the imaging is performed in a solid material, larger refractive indices can be obtained and the resolution of the imaging system can be increased.

A micro-projector comprises an LED layer, a light pipe coupled to the LED, a LCOS panel, a projection lens, a PBS, an aperture layer coupled to the output end of the light pipe which has a transmissive opening for transmitting a portion of the light output and a reflective surface for reflecting the remaining portion of the light output toward the input end of the light pipe. Thus, the remaining portion of the light output is recycled back to the LED to increase the brightness of the light output of the LED. The micro-projector also comprises a reflective polarizer disposed between the light pipe and the aperture layer for transmitting the light output of a predetermined polarization and reflecting other polarization of the light output, thereby recycling unused polarization of the light output back to the LED to increase the brightness of the light output of the LED.

A vehicle headlamp includes a projector-type lamp unit that performs two types of light distribution. The lamp unit is configured with a projection lens disposed on an optical axis Ax extending in an longitudinal direction of a vehicle, and a first light-source unit and a second light-source unit, both disposed to the rear of the projection lens. A low-beam light distribution pattern having sharp cut-off lines at an upper end portion is formed upon illumination of the first light-source unit. An additional high-beam light distribution pattern spreading upward from the cut-off lines is additionally formed upon illumination of the second light-source unit. Accordingly, a high-beam light distribution pattern is formed.

An illumination lamp including a projection lens 12 and primary and secondary light source units 14, 16 are disposed rearwards of a projection lens 12 disposed on an optical axis Ax, which extends in a longitudinal direction of a lamp. The primary light source unit 14 includes a primary reflector 34 and an upwardly oriented reflecting surface 36a which extends rearwards from the rear focal point F of the projection lens 12. The secondary light source unit 16 includes a secondary reflector 44 that reflects light upwards so as to be caused to substantially converge on a location lying near the rear focal point F on a downwardly oriented reflecting surface 46a, which extends obliquely downwards from a front end edge of the upwardly oriented reflecting surface 36a towards a rear of the lamp.

A microlithographic projection illumination system has a focus-detection system for optically detecting deviations of the image plane of a projection lens from the upper surface of a substrate arranged in the vicinity of its image plane. The focus-detection system has a system for coupling in at least one measuring beam that is obliquely incident on, and to be reflected at, the substrate surface into an intermediate zone between the final optical surface of the imaging system and the substrate surface and a system for coupling out the measuring beam and detecting it following its reflection at the substrate surface. The system for coupling the measuring beam in and the system for coupling it out are configured such that the measuring beam is reflected at least once at the substrate surface and at least once at a reflecting surface of the imaging system that reflects the light employed for measurement purposes before the measuring beam enters the system for coupling it out, which allows employing the image side of the imaging system as part of the focus-detection system. The focus-detection system also operates reliably when used on ultrahigh-aperture lenses that have correspondingly short working distances.

A wide-angle projection lens module is provided, including a reflective convex aspheric mirror and a refractive lens group of positive refractive power. The following Conditions (1) to (2) are satisfied:15<|Freflective / F|<25  Condition (1); and1.5<|Frefractive / F|<2.0  Condition (2),wherein, F is a focal length of the wide-angle projection lens module, Freflective is a focal length of the reflective convex mirror, and Frefractive is a focal length of the refractive lens group.

A projector includes a housing, an optical unit, and a heat transfer module. The housing is made of a material with high thermal conductivity having a window. The optical unit is accommodated in the housing and further includes a light source, a panel, and a projection lens. The light source provides a light. The panel modulates the light. The projection lens projects the modulated light to leave the window. The heat transfer module is accommodated in the housing and connected the optical unit and the housing to transfer heat from the optical unit to the housing. Particularly, the projector is a cooling-fan saved projector. In addition, the projector further comprises a computer card adapter and a computer card inserted into the computer card adapter.

A low beam light distribution pattern is formed by turning on a first light source unit and a high beam light distribution pattern is formed by additionally turning on a second light source unit. The second reflector of the second light source unit has reflecting faces of vertical cross-sectional shapes formed by two types of ellipses whose first focal point is on a center of emission of a second light-emitting element and whose second focal points are respectively positioned on points A, B. The additional lens whose rear focal points are on the second focal points A, B is arranged on a circumference of a projection lens. When the second light source unit is turned on, a high beam additional light distribution pattern is formed that vertically strides over the cutoff line of the low beam light distribution pattern.

A guided stage mechanism suitable for supporting a reticle in a photolithography machine includes a stage movable in the X-Y directions on a base. Laterally surrounding the stage is a rectangular window frame guide which is driven in the X-axis direction on two fixed guides by means of motor coils on the window frame guide cooperating with magnetic tracks fixed on the base. The stage is driven inside the window frame guide in the Y-axis direction by motor coils located on the stage cooperating with magnetic tracks located on the window frame guide. Forces from the drive motors of both the window frame guide and the stage are transmitted through the center of gravity of the stage, thereby eliminating unwanted moments of inertia. Additionally, reaction forces caused by the drive motors are isolated from the projection lens and the alignment portions of the photolithography machine. This isolation is accomplished by providing a mechanical support for the stage independent of the support for its window frame guide. The window frame guide is a hinged structure capable of a slight yawing (rotational) motion due to hinged flexures which connect the window frame guide members.

A lens cover covers a camera lens or a projection lens formed in the frame of a computer display or in the body of a personal digital assistant or mobile telephone. The cover is movable to allow the lens to operate, yet allow the cover to remain with the device. One cover pivots around a pivot point to cover or uncover the lens. Another cover hinges in order to cover or uncover the lens. Another cover slides back and forth. Another cover hangs upon a hook located above the lens. Another cover is a suction cup applied over the lens. Another cover slides back and forth hanging on the top edge of the computer display. The cover may be fixed in place using gravity, friction, a snap, hook and loop closures, suction, or a ZIPLOC-type mechanism. The cover or its attaching means may be fixed to the computer or telephone using a self adhesive.

Various embodiments described herein include lighting systems that produce an optical beam. Moreover, in various embodiments, the beam may be altered to provide, for example, a narrow beam or a wide beam. One such lighting system includes a light source, a diffusing optical element, and a projection lens. The diffusing optical element is disposed between the light source and the projection lens and can be translated to provide zoom capability.

An intermediate image is formed inside a prism by a projection lens and the like. Image light, totally reflected, in the order of a third surface, a first surface and a second surface, on two or more surfaces thereof, reaches an eye of an observer after passing through the first surface. Thus, it is possible to decrease the thickness of the prism and to reduce the size and weight of the entire optical system. Further, it is possible to realize a bright high-performance display with a wide viewing angle. With respect to external light, it is possible to pass the external light through the first surface and the third surface, for example, for observation. Further, by setting diopter at this time to about 0, it is possible to reduce defocusing or warp of the external light when the external light is observed in a see-through manner.

An optical mounting assembly, such as a lens cell assembly, method for making a lens cell assembly, and method for supporting a lens in the lens cell assembly are provided to kinematically mount an optical element to an optical holder. The optical mounting assembly includes an optical element having a plurality of mounting pads distributed around an outer circumference of the optical element, and an optical holder having a corresponding plurality of clamping brackets distributed around an inner circumference of the optical holder. The optical holder supports or constrains movement of the optical element at points of contact between the plurality of mounting pads and the corresponding plurality of clamping brackets both in a normal direction parallel to the optical axis of the assembly and in a tangential direction of the corresponding mounting pad. When the optical element has three mounting pads and the optical holder constrains the optical element at corresponding three clamping brackets, the optical element is constrained in six degrees of freedom, three in the normal direction and another three in the tangential direction at the corresponding mounting pads. The optical mounting assembly of this invention can be used in combination with a projection lens assembly in a semiconductor wafer manufacturing process.

An intra-oral imaging apparatus having an illumination field generator that forms an illumination beam having a contour fringe projection pattern when receiving light from a first light source and having a substantially uniform illumination field when receiving light from a second light source. A polarizer in the path of the illumination beam has a first polarization transmission axis. A projection lens directs the polarized illumination beam toward a tooth surface and an imaging lens directs at least a portion of the light from the tooth surface along a detection path. A polarization-selective element disposed along the detection path has a second polarization transmission axis. At least one detector obtains image data from the light provided through the polarization-selective element. A control logic processor responds to programmed instructions for alternately energizing the first and second light sources in a sequence and obtaining both contour fringe projection data and color image data.

A digital cinema projection apparatus having an illumination source with a first etendue value for providing polarized polychromatic light. A first lens element lies in the path of the polarized polychromatic light for forming a substantially telecentric polarized polychromatic light beam. A color separator separates the telecentric polarized polychromatic light beam into at least two telecentric color light beams. At least two transmissive spatial light modulators modulate the two telecentric color light beams. There is an etendue value associated with each spatial light modulator. The etendue value is within 15% or greater than the first etendue value corresponding to the illumination source. A color combiner combines the modulated color beams along a common optical axis, forming a multicolor modulated beam thereby; and a projection lens directs the multicolor modulated beam toward a display surface.

To provide a laser irradiation apparatus and a laser irradiation method in which a region formed with microcrystals in a region irradiated with laser beams is decreased by disposing a slit in an optical system using a deflector, and laser processing can be favorably conducted to a semiconductor film. Further to provide a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus using the above-described laser irradiation apparatus and the laser irradiation method. In the optical system, an f-θ lens having an image space telecentric characteristic or a slit the shape of which is changed in accordance with the incidence angle of a laser beam, is used. The slit is disposed between the f-θ lens and an irradiation surface, and an image at a slit opening portion is projected onto the irradiation surface by a projection lens. By the above-described structure, laser irradiation can be uniformly conducted to a whole region scanned with laser beams.

A 2-dimensional beam scan unit (2) reflects emission beams from a red laser light source (1a), a green laser light source (1b) and a blue laser light source (1c) and scans in a 2-dimensional direction. Diffusion plates (3a, 3b, 3c) diffuse the respective light beams scanned in the 2-dimensional direction to introduce them to corresponding spatial light modulation elements (5a, 5b, 5c). The respective spatial light modulation elements (5a, 5b, 5c) modulate the respective lights in accordance with video signals of the respective colors. A dichroic prism (6) multiplexes the lights of the three colors after the modulation and introduces the multiplexed lights to a projection lens (7) so that a color image is displayed on a screen (8). Since the 2-dimensional light emitted from the beam scan unit is diffused to illuminate the spatial light modulation element, it is possible to change the optical axis of the beam emerging from the light diffusion member for irradiating the spatial light modulation element moment by moment, thereby effectively suppressing speckle noise.

A projector assembly and method for automatically correcting keystone distortion includes an image correction engine, a light engine, a projection lens having a projection axis, a processor, a directional sensor and an inclination sensor. The sensors determine the absolute vertical and horizontal direction of the projection axis. The inclination sensor determines the vertical zero reference. The direction sensor is used to determine the horizontal zero reference. The processor calculates vertical and horizontal difference angles between the absolute directions and zero reference values in the vertical and horizontal directions. Using difference angles, the processor calculates the keystone distortion and instructs the image correction engine to apply geometric and brightness correction to the image data proportional and inverse to the keystone distortion and lens parameters (field of view, focal length, imperfections, etc) such that the image projected onto a viewing screen, is free from keystone distortion.

A light source arrangement for substantially enhaning the lighting intensity of the light beams emitted from the light source therefore includes a lens body and an illumination unit. The lens body has an illumination portion defining a light projecting surface and at least a diffraction portion defining a light diffraction surface inclinedly extended at a diffraction angle, wherein a diffraction density of the illumination portion is different from that of the diffraction portion. The illumination unit is covered by the lens body for radially generating light towards the illumination portion. When the light reaches the light diffraction surface of a diffraction portion at an angle larger than the diffraction angle, the light is substantially reflected at the light diffraction surface back towards the light projecting surface, such that the light from the illumination unit is converged to project at the light projecting surface of the lens body.

Methods and apparatus for enhancing the performance of a reflective liquid crystal display system. The high-contrast color splitting prism system utilizes a "double-passed" prism assembly. Polarized light enters the prism assembly, is color-split and emitted as separate colors to spatial light modulators which reflect each color in accordance with a desired image. The reflective light is passed, once again, through the prism assembly where the separate colors converge and propagate to a projection lens for display of the image on a screen. A waveplate retarder is positioned between the liquid crystal display and the polarizing element. The waveplate retarder is tilted with respect to the optical axis to eliminate the deleterious effects of the Fresnel reflections at the interfaces of the waveplate retarder.

A projector includes a light source lamp, a projection lens, a DMD device, a temperature controlling fan, an optical part, a cooling fan, and a heat radiating plate. Preferably, the heat radiation plate is provided in a path to the fans and in close proximity to the DMD device, and includes a base portion and a plurality of heat radiating fin portions, which are provided integrally on a surface of the base portion, are spaced apart at predetermined intervals and extend in a perpendicular direction to the surface of the base portion. Each of the plurality of heat radiating fin portions has a plurality of through holes which extend in a direction along the path to the fans and are spaced apart at predetermined intervals. An outer surface of the heat radiating fin portion has a shape which reflects a shape of the plurality of through holes.

An image sensor is installed in the vicinity of a projection lens. The image sensor images a projected and displayed image and a screen. A projection display area and a screen area are detected from the image imaged by the image sensor. An inputted image data is corrected so that the projection display area matches the screen area. The image to be displayed is automatically displayed in a shape, which matches a display surface of the screen.

A microlithographic projection illumination system has a focus-detection system for optically detecting deviations of the image plane of a projection lens from the upper surface of a substrate arranged in the vicinity of its image plane. The focus-detection system has a system for coupling in at least one measuring beam that is obliquely incident on, and to be reflected at, the substrate surface into an intermediate zone between the final optical surface of the imaging system and the substrate surface and a system for coupling out the measuring beam and detecting it following its reflection at the substrate surface. The system for coupling the measuring beam in and the system for coupling it out are configured such that the measuring beam is reflected at least once at the substrate surface and at least once at a reflecting surface of the imaging system that reflects the light employed for measurement purposes before the measuring beam enters the system for coupling it out, which allows employing the image side of the imaging system as part of the focus-detection system. The focus-detection system also operates reliably when used on ultrahigh-aperture lenses that have correspondingly short working distances.

A projection lens arrangement for a charged particle multi-beamlet system, the projection lens arrangement including one or more plates and one or more arrays of projection lenses. Each plate has an array of apertures formed in it, with projection lenses formed at the locations of the apertures. The arrays of projection lenses form an array of projection lens systems, each projection lens system comprising one or more of the projection lenses formed at corresponding points of the one or more arrays of projection lenses. The projection lens systems are arranged at a pitch in the range of about 1 to 3 times the diameter of the plate apertures, and each projection lens system is for demagnifying and focusing one or more of the charged particle beamlets on to the target plane, each projection lens system has an effective focal length in the range of about 1 to 5 times the pitch, and demagnifies the charged particle beamlets by at least 25 times.

An electronic imaging system for providing a viewable color image from an image data stream, including: a plurality of different colored laser light sources arranged in an at least one array with each such colored laser light source including a vertical cavity design; at least one area light valve for receiving the laser light and producing the viewable color image from the image data stream; and a projection lens for projecting the viewable color image onto a target plane.

An exposure apparatus for exposing mask patterns on a sensitive plate comprises a set (for X and Y direction) of a laser interferometer for measuring a position of a wafer stage and satisfying Abbe's condition with respect to a projection lens and a set (for X and Y direction) of the laser interferometer and satisfying Abbe's condition with respect to off-axis alignment system. When a fiducial mark on the wafer stage is positioned directly under the projection lens, a presetting is performed so that measuring values by the two sets of laser interferometers are equal to each other.

A method and system for combining light emitted by dispersed light sources for use in a projection display or similar system. A plurality of elongated and tapered light integrators are placed side by side forming an array, each having at their small input end a light source, such as an LED. Light collimated by each light integrator is further collimated by a convex lens disposed immediately at the output end of the light integrator. From the convex lenses, the light falls upon an array integrator, preferably a fly-eye type integrator, and passes through it to a second array integrator. Light emerging from the second array integrator is then passed through one or more relay lenses and falls upon a light modulator, such as a digital mircomirror device (DMD). The modulated light beam then passes through a projection lens and onto a visual image display screen. The display screen may, for example, be the screen of a high definition television (HDTV).

A projection display system includes a projection lens assembly that has multiple projection lens elements that are configured to receive light imparted with display information by a pixelated display device. The projection lens elements project the light toward a display screen. A pixel-shifting element is included within the projection lens assembly to cyclically shift between at least two positions within the projection lens assembly to form at a display screen at least two interlaced arrays of pixels. An electromechanical transducer is coupled to the pixel-shifting element to impart on it the cyclic shifting between positions.