Illumination optical apparatus and scanning exposure apparatus using the same
US5661837A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 9, 1996 |
| Grant date | Aug 26, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 9, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S385/901
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
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.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.