Exposure head, exposure apparatus, and application thereof

• US 7,079,169 B2
• Filed: 04/28/2005
• 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:
  US11/116,342
• Publication Number:
  US 20050191016A1
• Time in Patent Office: 446 Days
• Field of Search: 347/233, 347/237, 347/239
• US Class Current: 347/233
• 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 method of exposing according to an input image data using an exposure head including a laser device, a spatial light modulator in which plural pixel portions are two-dimensionally arranged on a substrate, a control mechanism, and an optical system, and in which the exposure head is relatively moved in a direction that is orthogonal to a predetermined direction with respect to an exposure surface, the exposure method comprising:

irradiating a laser beam by the laser device;

controlling 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 control signals generated according to exposure information;

modulating the irradiated laser beam with the spatial light modulator by changing a light modulation state of the plural pixel portions according to respective control signals; and

focusing the laser beam modulated at each pixel portion with the optical system onto the exposure surface.

2. The exposure method of claim 1, wherein the control of the pixel portions are carried out to the pixel portions that are included in a region in which a length of the region in a direction corresponding to the predetermined direction is longer than a length of a region in the direction that is orthogonal to the predetermined direction.

3. The exposure method of claim 1, wherein the laser device comprises a plurality of fiber light sources which irradiates the laser beam which is incident to an incident end of an 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 bundle light source in which light-emitting points at the outgoing end are arranged in the shape of a bundle.

4. The exposure method of 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 exposure method of claim 3, wherein the fiber light source is an incorporated laser light source which incorporates the laser beam and causes the laser beam to impinge to the optical fiber.

6. The exposure method of claim 5, wherein the laser device irradiates a laser beam having a wavelength of 350 to 450 nm.

7. The exposure method of claim 3, wherein the fiber light source comprises 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 the incident end of the optical fiber.

8. The exposure method of claim 3, wherein the fiber light source comprises a multi-cavity laser including a plurality of light-emitting points, one optical fiber, and a condensing optical system which condenses laser beams respectively emitted from the plurality of light-emitting points and focuses the condensed beam on the incident end of the optical fiber.

9. The exposure method of claim 3, wherein the fiber light source comprises a plurality of multi-cavity lasers including a plurality of light-emitting points, one optical fiber, and a condensing optical system which condenses laser beams respectively emitted from the plurality of light-emitting points of the plurality of multi-cavity lasers and focuses the condensed beam on the incident end of the optical fiber.

10. The exposure method of claim 1, wherein the spatial light modulator is a micro-mirror device in which plural micro-mirrors, angles of reflection planes of which are changeable according to respective control signals, are two-dimensionally arranged on a substrate.

11. The exposure method of claim 1, wherein the spatial light modulator is a liquid crystal shutter array in which plural liquid crystal cells which can shut transmitted light according to respective control signals are two-dimensionally arranged on a substrate.

12. The exposure method of claim 1, wherein a collimator lens and an optical system for correcting light intensity distribution are further disposed between the laser device and the spatial light modulator, wherein the method further comprises:

arranging the collimator lens which collimates the laser beam; and

correcting the light intensity distribution with the optical system for correcting light intensity distribution, by changing a light flux width at each outgoing position so that a ratio of a light flux width of a peripheral portion to a light flux width of a central portion near an optical axis is smaller at an outgoing side than at an incident side, and correcting the light intensity distribution of the laser beam collimated by the collimator lens so as to be substantially uniform at an irradiated surface of the spatial light modulator.

13. An exposure method of an exposure apparatus which comprises an exposure head and a moving mechanism for moving the exposure apparatus, the exposure head including a laser device, a spatial light modulator in which plural pixel portions are two-dimensionally arranged on a substrate, a control mechanism, and an optical system, the exposure method comprising:

irradiating a laser beam with the laser device;

controlling 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 using the control mechanism;

modulating the irradiated laser beam with the spatial light modulator by changing a light modulation state of the plural pixel portions according to respective control signals;

focusing the laser beam modulated at each pixel portion on the exposure surface with the optical system; and

relatively moving the exposure head in a direction that is orthogonal to a predetermined direction with respect to the exposure surface using the moving mechanism.

14. An exposure method of an exposure head which can be relatively moved in a direction that is orthogonal to a predetermined direction with respect to an exposure surface and in which the exposure head comprises a light source including a plurality of light-emitting points, a micro-mirror device in which plural micro-mirrors are two-dimensionally arranged on a substrate, a control mechanisms which controls an angle of a reflection plane in each of a plurality of micro-mirrors, an optical system which focuses light reflected by the micro-mirror, the exposure method comprising:

emitting light from the light source;

controlling the angles of each reflection plane of a number of micro-mirrors, which are fewer than a total number of the micro-mirrors arranged on the substrate, and which are included in a region in which a length of the region in a direction corresponding to the predetermined direction is longer than a length in the direction that is orthogonal to the predetermined direction, using the control signals generated according to exposure information with the control mechanism;

reflecting the emitted light with the controlled micro-mirrors; and

focusing the reflected light reflected by the micro-mirrors with the optical system onto the exposure surface.

15. The exposure method of claim 14, wherein, the plurality of micro-mirrors included in the region, the number of micro-mirrors in the direction that is orthogonal to the predetermined direction is from 10 to 200.

16. An exposure method of an exposure head which can be relatively moved in a direction that is orthogonal to a predetermined direction with respect to an exposure surface, and in which the exposure head comprises a light source including a plurality of light-emitting points, a micro-mirror device in which plural micro-mirrors are two-dimensionally arranged on a substrate in which a length in a direction corresponding to the predetermined direction is longer than a length in the direction that is orthogonal to the predetermined direction, control mechanism which controls a reflection plane of each of a number of micro-mirrors, an optical system which focuses light reflected by the micro-mirror, the exposure method comprising:

emitting light from the light source;

controlling with the control mechanism an angle of a reflection plane of each of the plural micro-mirrors using the control signals generated according to exposure information;

reflecting the emitted light with the controlled micro-mirrors; and

focusing light reflected by the micro-mirror onto the exposure surface with the optical system.