Exposure head, exposure apparatus, and application thereof

• US 7,077,972 B2
• Filed: 04/13/2005
• Issued: 07/18/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Adtec Engineering Company Limited (Ushio Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Fujinon Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation), Fuji Photo Film Co Limited (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Yamakawa, Hiromitsu, Fujii, Takeshi, Nagano, Kazuhiko, Okazaki, Yoji, Ishikawa, Hiromi
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, HUAN HUU
• Application Number:
  US11/104,598
• Publication Number:
  US 20050175302A1
• Time in Patent Office: 461 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 216/65
• 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

A method of creating a micro-channel in a substrate surface by exposing a resist film with a laser beam, removing the exposed resist film per the predetermined pattern, and etching the substrate using the predetermined pattern to form the micro-channel.

Claims

1. 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.

2. The method of forming a minute channel according to claim 1, 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.

3. The method of forming a minute channel according to claim 1, 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.

4. The method of forming a minute channel according to claim 3, 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.

5. The method of forming a minute channel according to claim 1, 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.