Exposure head, exposure apparatus, and application thereof

• US 7,048,528 B2
• Filed: 04/13/2005
• Issued: 05/23/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• 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
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, HUAN HUU
• Application Number:
  US11/104,427
• Publication Number:
  US 20050179772A1
• Time in Patent Office: 405 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 425/174.4
• 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 decreased, 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. A rapid prototyping apparatus comprising:

an exposure head including a forming tank which stores a photo-curable resin, a support which is elevatably provided in the forming tank for supporting a formed article, a laser device which irradiates a laser beam, a spatial light modulator in which plural pixel portions, in which a light modulation state is changed according to respective control signals, are two-dimensionally arranged on a substrate and which modulates the laser beam irradiated from the laser device, control means which controls each of a number of the plural pixel portions that is fewer than a total number of the pixel portions arranged on the substrate, using the control signals generated according to exposure information, and an optical system which focuses the laser beam modulated at each pixel portion on a liquid surface of the photo-curable resin stored in the forming tank; and

moving means which relatively moves the exposure head with respect to the liquid surface of the photo-curable resin.

2. The rapid prototyping apparatus of claim 1, wherein the laser device comprises a plurality of fiber light sources which irradiates the laser beam which is incorporated and incident to an incident end of the optical fiber from an outgoing end of the optical fiber, and includes a fiber array light source in which light-emitting points at the outgoing end of the plurality of fiber light sources are arranged in the shape of an array, or a fiber bundle light source in which light-emitting points at the outgoing end are arranged in the shape of a bundle.

3. A rapid prototyping apparatus comprising:

an exposure head including a forming tank which stores a powder to be sintered by light irradiation, a support which is elevatably provided in the shaping tank for supporting a formed article, a laser device which irradiates a laser beam, a spatial light modulator in which plural pixel portions, at which a light modulation state is changed according to respective control signals, are two-dimensionally arranged on a substrate and which modulates the laser beam irradiated from the laser device, control means which controls each of a number of the plural pixel portions that is fewer than a total number of the pixel portions arranged on the substrate, using the control signals generated according to exposure information, and an optical system which focuses the laser beam modulated at each pixel portion on a surface of the powder stored in the forming tank; and

moving means which relatively moves the exposure head with respect to the surface of the powder.

4. The rapid prototyping apparatus of claim 3, wherein the laser device comprises a plurality of fiber light sources which irradiates the laser beam which is incorporated and incident to an incident end of the optical fiber from an outgoing end of the optical fiber, and includes a fiber array light source in which light-emitting points at the outgoing end of the plurality of fiber light sources are arranged in the shape of an array, or a fiber bundle light source in which light-emitting points at the outgoing end are arranged in the shape of a bundle.

5. The rapid prototyping apparatus of claim 3, wherein the laser device is pulse-driven.

6. The rapid prototyping apparatus of claim 5, wherein the laser device is pulse-driven with a pulse width of 1 psec to 100 nsec.