Catadioptric imaging systems for digital scanner
First Claim
1. A projection optical system configured to form an image on a substrate and including a catadioptric illumination relay lens, a catadioptric projection lens, and a spatial light modulator (SLM) positioned to receive light from the catadioptric illumination relay lens and reflect said light towards the catadioptric projection lens,wherein the catadioptric projection lens includes first and second portions in optical communication with one another,said second portion configured as a catadioptric optical system forming, in light received from the catadioptric illumination relay lens, an intermediate optical image at a location between elements of the second portion;
- said first portion located between the second portion and an image plane of the projection optical system, said first portion configured as a dioptric optical system disposed to transfer light from said location to the image plane of the projection optical system to form said image at the image plane of the projection optical system,said catadioptric projection lens configured to satisfy a condition of |β
II|<
|β
I|, wherein β
I denotes a magnification of the first portion and β
II denotes a magnification of the second portion.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Projection optical system for forming an image on a substrate and including an illumination relay lens and a projection lens each of which is a catadioptric system. The projection lens may include two portions in optical communication with one another, the first of which is dioptric and the second of which is catadioptric. In a specific case, the projection optical system satisfies
where βI and βT are magnifications of the first portion and the overall projection lens. Optionally, the projection lens may be structured to additionally satisfy
where βII is a magnification of the second portion. A digital scanner including such projection optical system and operating with UV light having a spectral bandwidth on the order of 1 picometer. Method for forming an image with such projection optical system.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A projection optical system configured to form an image on a substrate and including a catadioptric illumination relay lens, a catadioptric projection lens, and a spatial light modulator (SLM) positioned to receive light from the catadioptric illumination relay lens and reflect said light towards the catadioptric projection lens,
wherein the catadioptric projection lens includes first and second portions in optical communication with one another, said second portion configured as a catadioptric optical system forming, in light received from the catadioptric illumination relay lens, an intermediate optical image at a location between elements of the second portion; -
said first portion located between the second portion and an image plane of the projection optical system, said first portion configured as a dioptric optical system disposed to transfer light from said location to the image plane of the projection optical system to form said image at the image plane of the projection optical system, said catadioptric projection lens configured to satisfy a condition of |β
II|<
|β
I|, wherein β
I denotes a magnification of the first portion and β
II denotes a magnification of the second portion. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for forming an image with a projection optical system comprising:
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receiving radiation transmitted through a catadioptric illumination relay of the projection optical system with a spatial light modulator (SLM); and reflecting radiation received by the SLM through a catadioptric projection lens of the projection optical system to form the image such that chromatic errors induced in the image are at least partially reduced, wherein the reflecting includes forming an intermediate image within the catadioptric projection lens between first and second portions of the catadioptric projection lens, said second portion configured as a catadioptric optical system to transfer light from the SLM to a location of the intermediate image, said first portion configured as a dioptric optical system disposed to transfer light from said location to an image plane of the projection optical system, the catadioptric projection lens configured to satisfy a condition of - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A projection optical system configured to form an image on a substrate and including a catadioptric illumination relay lens, a catadioptric projection lens, and a spatial light modulator (SLM) positioned to receive light from the catadioptric illumination relay lens and reflect said light towards the catadioptric projection lens,
wherein the catadioptric projection lens includes first and second portions in optical communication with one another, said second portion configured as a catadioptric optical system forming, in light received from the catadioptric illumination relay lens, an intermediate optical image at a location between elements of the second portion; -
said second portion configured such that said light passes through a first group of lenses including a first negative lens, then through a second group of lenses, and then is reflected with a concave mirror to form a reflected beam transmitted through the second group of lenses; said first portion configured as a dioptric optical system disposed to transfer light from said location to an image plane of the projection optical system to form an image of the intermediate optical image at the image plane, wherein the second group of lenses includes second and third negative lenses immediately adjacent to one another, a concave surface of the second negative lens facing away from the concave mirror, a concave surface of the third negative lens facing the concave mirror.
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Specification