Process and arrangement for producing dose profiles for the fabrication of structured surfaces

• US 5,620,814 A
• Filed: 05/26/1995
• Issued: 04/15/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Leica Lithographie Systeme Jena GmbH
• Original Assignee: Leica Lithographie Systeme Jena GmbH
• Inventors: Kley, Ernst-Bernhard
• Primary Examiner(s): ROSASCO, STEPHEN D
• Application Number:
  US08/446,607
• Time in Patent Office: 690 Days
• Field of Search: 430/522, 430/296, 430/397, 156/150, 156/272.2, 156/272.5
• US Class Current: 430/5
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 3/08 with discontinuous faces, e.g. Fresnel lens diffractive Fresnel lenses G02B5/1876
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/20 Exposure; Apparatus therefor photographic printing apparatus for making copies G03B27/00

Abstract

The object of a process and an arrangement for producing dose profiles for the fabrication of structured surfaces with a beam which is used for exposure and is directed on the surface consists in arranging the surface irradiation in such a way that the processing times and material outlay required for fabrication of micro-lenses and micro-lens arrays can be substantially reduced. According to the invention, the beam has at least one shaped region in cross section, which shaped region is movable relative to the surface and whose extent in the movement direction of the relative movement, in combination with the velocity of the relative movement, determines the dose. Effective lithographic fabrication of lens structures, in particular micro-lenses and micro-lens arrays, can be realized with the invention.

Claims

1. In an arrangement for producing dose profiles for the fabrication of microlens arrays with a beam used for exposure and directed on a surface of a substrate, the improvement comprising:

shaping means including a diaphragm assembly having a plurality of apertures for shaping the cross-section of a plurality of exposure beams, which shaping means generates a plurality of shaped beam cross-sections which are fixed relative to one another and movable relative to the surface and whose extents in the direction of the relative movement, in combination with the velocity of the relative movement, determines doses for a plurality of respective areas on said substrate, said apertures being arranged one behind the other in the direction of relative movement.

2. The optical arrangement according to claim 1, wherein piezo-actuators are connected with the diaphragm assembly to produce the relative movement.

3. The optical arrangement according to claim 2, wherein the relative movement corresponds to a distance between adjacent apertures of said diaphragm assembly in the movement direction.

4. The optical arrangement according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the diaphragm apertures has a rim formed of a straight line and a parabola, said parabola having an axis of symmetry directed in the movement direction, which connects two points on a straight line normal to the movement direction.

5. The optical arrangement according to claim 4, wherein at least one rectangular shadow element is placed in said one of the diaphragm apertures, one side of the rectangular shadow element coinciding with the straight line and the opposite side contacting the parabola by its end points.

6. The optical arrangement according to claim 5, wherein the regions left open by the shadow element are situated at a common border by their edges which are in an orientation normal to the movement direction.

7. The optical arrangement according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said diaphragm apertures has a rim formed of two parabolas, wherein the parabolas, which have a common axis of symmetry oriented in the movement direction, are constructed so as to be convex in the movement direction and opposite thereto and have common intersection points lying on a straight line normal to the movement direction.

8. The optical arrangement according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the diaphragm apertures is a portion left open within a rectangular rim by a shadow element and wherein a pair of rim sides has sides extending in a direction normal to the movement direction.

9. The optical arrangement according to claim 8, wherein one of the sides normal to the movement direction coincides with a straight rim of the shadow element, whose other rim is a parabola whose axis of symmetry in the movement direction connects two points on the straight rim.

10. The optical arrangement according to claim 8, wherein the shadow element is formed of partial elements remaining after at least one rectangular portion is removed from a surface enclosed by a straight line and a parabola, wherein the parabola, whose axis of symmetry is oriented in the movement direction, connects two points on the straight line normal to the movement direction, one side of the rectangular portion coincides with the straight line, while the end points of the opposite side contact the parabola, and in that the partial elements are so disposed that their straight rims normal to the movement direction are located at one of the sides of the rectangular rim which are normal to the movement direction.

11. The optical arrangement according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the apertures of the diaphragm assembly corresponds to a right triangle, one of whose legs is directed in the movement direction.

12. The optical arrangement according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the apertures of the diaphragm assembly corresponds to an isosceles triangle whose vertex is formed by the equal sides is directed in the movement direction.

13. The optical arrangement according to claim 1 wherein adjusting slides are provided for adjusting the shape or magnitude of the diaphragm assembly.

14. The optical arrangement according to claim 1, wherein a display screen is used for shaping the cross sections of the beams.