Radial polarization-rotating optical arrangement and microlithographic projection exposure system incorporating said arrangement
US6191880A · kind A · utility
152Cited by
10References
5Claims
0Family size
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 14, 1999 |
| Grant date | Feb 20, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 14, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02B27/283
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An optical arrangement is disclosed wherein an entering beam is converted into an exiting beam having a total cross section of light which is linearly polarized essentially in the radial direction by rotation. For this purpose, rasters of half-wave plates (41, 42, 4i), a combination of birefringent quarter-wave plate 420 and a circular plate 430 is suggested in combination with a conical polarizer 21'. This arrangement is preferably utilized in the illumination portion of a microlithographic projection exposure system. It is important that the arrangement be mounted behind all asymmetric or polarizing component elements 103a.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.