Exposure head, exposure apparatus, and application thereof

• US 20050175302A1
• Filed: 04/13/2005
• Published: 08/11/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Adtec Engineering Company Limited (Ushio Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Photo Film Co Limited (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation), Fuji Photo Optical Co. Ltd (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Yamakawa, Hiromitsu, Fujii, Takeshi, Nagano, Kazuhiko, Okazaki, Yoji, Ishikawa, Hiromi
• Granted Patent: US 7,077,972 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 385/115
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 26/0604 by a combination of beams
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 26/066 by using masks
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/135 the energy source being concentrated, e.g. scanning lasers or focused light sources
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/153 using layers of powder being selectively joined, e.g. by selective laser sintering or melting
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 30/00 Apparatus for additive manufacturing; Details thereof or accessories therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/45 using light-emitting diode [LED] or laser arrays
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/451 Special optical means therefor, e.g. lenses, mirrors, focusing means
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/465 using masks, e.g. light-switching masks
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/47 using the combination of scanning and modulation of light
• CPC Class Codes: D06L 4/50 by irradiation or ozonisation
• CPC Class Codes: D06M 10/005 Laser beam treatment
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/0841 the reflecting element being moved or deformed by electrostatic means
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/7005 by multiple sources, e.g. light-emitting diodes [LED] or light source arrays addressable array sources specially adapted to produce patterns without a mask G03F7/70391
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70291 Addressable masks, e.g. spatial light modulators [SLMs], digital micro-mirror devices [DMDs] or liquid crystal display [LCD] patterning devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/12 using the sheet-feed movement or the medium-advance or the drum-rotation movement as the slow scanning component, e.g. arrangements for the main-scanningsheet-feed movement by translatory movement of a flat picture-bearing surface H04N1/1008; main-scanning using oscillating or rotating mirrors H04N1/113; using multi-element arrays H04N1/19
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/191 the array comprising a one-dimensional array , or a combination of one-dimensional arrays, or a substantially one-dimensional array, e.g. an array of staggered elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/1916 using an array of elements displaced from one another in the main scan direction, e.g. a diagonally arranged array

Abstract

In an exposure apparatus of the invention, for a spatial light modulator, each of a plurality of pixel portions fewer than the total number of the pixel portions is controlled with a control signal generated according to exposure information. Namely, a part of the pixel portions is controlled without controlling a whole of the pixel portions on the substrate. Thus, the number of pixels in the pixel portions is described, and transfer time of the control signal becomes short. This enables modulation speed of the laser beam to be increased and the high-speed exposure to be performed. An incorporated laser light source, in which the laser beams are incorporated and struck on the optical fiber, is preferable to the laser device. By adopting the incorporated laser light source, high brightness and high output can be obtained, and it is preferable to the exposure of the spatial light modulator. Since the fiber array is obtained with few optical fibers, it is low cost Since the number of optical fibers is few, the light-emitting region is further decreased when the optical fibers are arrayed.

Claims

1-21. -21. (canceled)

22. A method of forming a minute channel, the method comprising the steps of:

exposing a resist film formed on a substrate with a laser beam having a wavelength of 350 nm to 450 nm, which laser beam is spatially modulated according to forming pattern data of the minute channel;

partially removing the resist film according to an exposure pattern to form a resist film having a predetermined pattern; and

etching the substrate surface to form the minute channel, by using the resist film having the predetermined pattern.

23. The method of forming a minute channel according to claim 22, wherein a thickness of the resist film is 10 μ

m to 100 μ

m, when the minute channel is formed having a width of 10 μ

m to 50 μ

m.

24. The method of forming a minute channel according to claim 22, wherein the laser beam is irradiated from an incorporated laser light source which includes a plurality of semiconductor lasers, one optical fiber, and a condensing optical system which condenses laser beams respectively emitted from the plurality of semiconductor lasers and couples the condensed beam at an incident end of the optical fiber.

25. The method of forming a minute channel according to claim 24, wherein an optical fiber in which a core diameter is uniform and a cladding diameter at an outgoing end is smaller than a cladding diameter at an incident end is used as the optical fiber.

26. The method of forming a minute channel according to claim 22, wherein the laser beam is irradiated to a spatial light modulator in which plural pixel portions, at which a light modulation state is changed according to respective control signals, are arranged on a substrate, and modulated at each pixel portion of the spatial light modulator.

27-30. -30. (canceled)