Abstract: The present invention discloses a film formation device and a film formation method for film formation of thin films. The film formation device includes a vacuum chamber, an evacuation mechanism that is connected to the vacuum chamber and evacuates the vacuum chamber, a substrate holding mechanism that holds a substrate in the vacuum chamber, a film formation mechanism that is disposed in the vacuum chamber, and an introduction mechanism that is connected to the vacuum chamber and capable of introducing a hydroxyl group-containing gas into the vacuum chamber during film formation by the film formation mechanism.

Abstract: Provided are a thin film formation apparatus, a sputtering cathode, and a method of forming thin film, capable of forming a multilayer optical film at a high film deposition rate on a large-sized substrate. The thin film formation apparatus forms a thin film of a metal compound on a substrate in a vacuum chamber by sputtering. The vacuum chamber is provided in its inside with targets composed of metal or a conductive metal compound, and an active species source for generating an active species of a reactive gas. The active species source is provided with gas sources for supplying the reactive gas, and an energy source for supplying energy into the vacuum chamber to excite the reactive gas to a plasma state. The energy source is provided between itself and the vacuum chamber with a dielectric window for supplying the energy into the vacuum chamber.

Abstract: Provided is a thin film forming apparatus for reducing operation time and cost by forming a film only on a specific portion on substrates. A substrate holding mechanism provided in the apparatus includes: substrate holding members holding substrates in a manner that a part of a non-film forming portion of a substrate overlaps the other substrate and a film forming portion is exposed, a support member supporting the substrate holding members, and a rotation member which rotates the support member. The substrate holding members include: holding surfaces holding the substrates and disposed between a film forming source and the substrates, step portions formed between the holding surfaces in a manner that ends of the substrates respectively contact with the step portions, and opening portions formed on the holding surfaces of the portion corresponding to the film forming portion when the ends of the substrates contact with the step portions.

Abstract: Provided are a thin film formation apparatus, a sputtering cathode, and a method of forming thin film, capable of forming a multilayer optical film at a high film deposition rate on a large-sized substrate. The thin film formation apparatus forms a thin film of a metal compound on a substrate in a vacuum chamber by sputtering. The vacuum chamber is provided in its inside with targets composed of metal or a conductive metal compound, and an active species source for generating an active species of a reactive gas. The active species source is provided with gas sources for supplying the reactive gas, and an energy source for supplying energy into the vacuum chamber to excite the reactive gas to a plasma state. The energy source is provided between itself and the vacuum chamber with a dielectric window for supplying the energy into the vacuum chamber.

Abstract: A method for depositing a film includes depositing an oil repellent film having an enhanced abrasion resistance properties and which is suitable for practical use. A film deposition system, wherein a substrate holder having a substrate holding surface for holding a plurality of substrates is provided rotatably to inside a vacuum container, can include an ion source provided to inside the vacuum container to have a configuration and in an arrangement and/or a direction, by which an ion beam can be irradiated only to a partial region of the substrate holding surface. A deposition source can be provided to inside the vacuum container such that a film deposition material of an oil repellent film can be supplied to the whole region of the substrate holding surface. An operation of the ion source can be stopped before starting operation of the deposition source.

Abstract: Provided is a film formation apparatus with which an anti-fouling film having high usability and antiwear performance may be formed efficiently. According to a film formation apparatus (1) of the present invention, a substrate holder (12) which comprises a basal body holding surface for folding a plurality of substrates (14) is disposed in a vacuum container (10) in a rotatable manner.

Abstract: Provided is a thin film forming apparatus for reducing operation time and cost by forming a film only on a specific portion on substrates. A substrate holding mechanism provided in the apparatus includes: substrate holding members holding substrates in a manner that a part of a non-film forming portion of a substrate overlaps the other substrate and a film forming portion is exposed, a support member supporting the substrate holding members, and a rotation member which rotates the support member. The substrate holding members include: holding surfaces holding the substrates and disposed between a film forming source and the substrates, step portions formed between the holding surfaces in a manner that ends of the substrates respectively contact with the step portions, and opening portions formed on the holding surfaces of the portion corresponding to the film forming portion when the ends of the substrates contact with the step portions.

Abstract: A polarization diffraction grating that enables the polarization direction of incident light and the occurrence direction of diffracted light to be freely selected without being restricted by the material of a substrate is provided. A polarization diffraction grating includes a transparent substrate, a polymer liquid crystal layer that is adhered onto the transparent substrate via an adhesive layer, and that has a first concavity/convexity structure that diffracts incident light formed on a face opposite to the adhesive layer, and an optically isotropic material layer provided to fill the first concavity/convexity structure.

Abstract: A grating element is provided with diffraction members wherein protrusions and recesses are periodically arranged, respectively, on one surface of each of transparent substrates. The diffraction members are laminated in the substantially perpendicular direction to the transparent substrates, the protrusions of the diffraction members are made of a dielectric multilayer film, and the dielectric multilayer film has dielectric films of two or more types laminated in the substantially perpendicular direction on the transparent substrates. The wavelengths of laser beams diffracted at predetermined diffraction efficiencies by the diffraction members are different from one another.

Abstract: An object of the invention is to provide a plastic objective lens having a good lens tilt property in both thicknesses of a two-layer disc in a used temperature range even in the plastic objective lens in which a numerical aperture (NA) is equal to or higher than 0.81, while dissolving the problem mentioned above. The objective lens includes a point at which a third order comma aberration amount generated at a time of a lens tilt of the objective lens becomes equal to a third order comma aberration amount generated at a time when a disc is tilted at the same angle amount as the lens tilt angle, in a transparent board thickness which is thicker than a larger thickness of the two-layer transparent board under a room temperature (25±3° C.).

Abstract: A pickup lens with a phase compensator is composed of a condenser lens and a phase compensator. At least one surface of the condenser lens has a step-like annular zone structure to compensate wavefront aberration generated when recording and reproducing data on an information recording medium having a substrate thickness of t1 with a laser beam having a wavelength ?1 and wavefront aberration generated when recording and reproducing data on an information recording medium having a substrate thickness of t2 with a laser beam having a wavelength ?2. The phase compensator compensates wavefront aberration generated when recording and reproducing data on an information recording medium having a substrate thickness of t3 with a laser beam having a wavelength ?3.

Abstract: A coupling lens for chromatic aberration correction is placed between a light source and an objective lens for focusing light beams with a plurality of wavelengths on an information recording surface of an optical recording medium, and at least one surface of the coupling lens includes a plurality of annular zones having a step concentric with an optical axis. The coupling lens is designed so that when a wavelength ?1=380 to 430 nm and a height of the step is d=m1?1/(n1?1) where m1 is an actual number and n1 is a refractive index of the coupling lens at the wavelength ?1, 9.9?m1?10.1 is satisfied.

Abstract: An optical pickup lens focuses laser beams having different wavelengths ?1, ?2 and ?3 on at least three kinds of optical discs. At least one side of the optical pickup lens has a concentric loop zonal structure for compensating wavefront aberration occurring when recording or reproducing an optical disc having a substrate thickness t1 by the laser beam having the wavelength ?1 and wavefront aberration occurring when recording or reproducing an optical disc having a substrate thickness t2 by the laser beam having the wavelength ?2. When recording or reproducing an optical disc having a substrate thickness t3 by the laser beam having the wavelength ?3, a phase difference given to the laser beam having the wavelength ?3 due to the concentric loop zonal structure is about 0.15? or smaller.

Abstract: An optical pickup system for reading information of three kinds of optical recording media. The optical pickup system has a wavelength selective filter that includes an outer area for shielding one light beam of light beams having three kinds of wavelengths and an inner area for allowing all the light beams to pass through. The optical pickup system also has an objective lens that focuses each light beam having passed through the wavelength selective filter on each light recording medium. An optical head and an optical disk apparatus have the optical pickup system.

Abstract: A projection display device includes a three-color LED source having a red LED, a green LED and a blue LED, a light pipe for making uniform illumination distribution of light emitted from the three-color LED source, an optical lens for making the light from the light pipe into parallel light, and a light modulation element for modulating the light from the optical lens. The optical lens includes a first toroidal lens element provided with a first entrance face on which the light whose angle with respect to an optical axis is a predetermined angle is incident to image the light, and a first exit face which emits the light incident from the first entrance face, and a second lens element provided with a second entrance face which is adjacently disposed to the first exit face in an optical axis direction.

Abstract: A pickup lens with a phase compensator is composed of a condenser lens and a phase compensator. At least one surface of the condenser lens has a step-like annular zone structure to compensate wavefront aberration generated when recording and reproducing data on an information recording medium having a substrate thickness of t1 with a laser beam having a wavelength ?1 and wavefront aberration generated when recording and reproducing data on an information recording medium having a substrate thickness of t2 with a laser beam having a wavelength ?2. The phase compensator compensates wavefront aberration generated when recording and reproducing data on an information recording medium having a substrate thickness of t3 with a laser beam having a wavelength ?3.

Abstract: An object of the invention is to provide a plastic objective lens having a good lens tilt property in both thicknesses of a two-layer disc in a used temperature range even in the plastic objective lens in which a numerical aperture (NA) is equal to or higher than 0.81, while dissolving the problem mentioned above. The objective lens includes a point at which a third order comma aberration amount generated at a time of a lens tilt of the objective lens becomes equal to a third order comma aberration amount generated at a time when a disc is tilted at the same angle amount as the lens tilt angle, in a transparent board thickness which is thicker than a larger thickness of the two-layer transparent board under a room temperature (25±3° C.).

Abstract: A pickup lens with a phase compensator is composed of a condenser lens and a phase compensator. At least one surface of the condenser lens has a step-like annular zone structure to compensate wavefront aberration generated when recording and reproducing data on an information recording medium having a substrate thickness of t1 with a laser beam having a wavelength ?1 and wavefront aberration generated when recording and reproducing data on an information recording medium having a substrate thickness of t2 with a laser beam having a wavelength ?2. The phase compensator compensates wavefront aberration generated when recording and reproducing data on an information recording medium having a substrate thickness of t3 with a laser beam having a wavelength ?3.

Abstract: An objective lens optical system includes a light beam splitting element and an objective lens and is configured to focus a light beam with a wavelength ? on an information recording surface of a first optical recording medium as a dual/double layer disc having a transparent substrate with a thickness t1 and to focus a light beam with a wavelength ? on an information recording surface of a second optical recording medium as a dual/double layer disc having a transparent substrate with a thickness t2 (t1<t2). The light beam splitting element is sectioned into regions that are designed to focus a light beams on an information recording surface of either one of the first optical recording medium and the second optical recording medium. Either one region has a negative or positive power so that a light focus position of a light beam having passed through the first region by the objective lens and a light focus position of a light beam having passed through the second region by the objective lens are different.

Abstract: A coupling lens for chromatic aberration correction is placed between a light source and an objective lens for focusing light beams with a plurality of wavelengths on an information recording surface of an optical recording medium, and at least one surface of the coupling lens includes a plurality of annular zones having a step concentric with an optical axis. The coupling lens is designed so that when a wavelength ?1=380 to 430 nm and a height of the step is d=m1?1/(n1?1) where m1 is an actual number and n1 is a refractive index of the coupling lens at the wavelength ?1, 9.9?m1?10.1 is satisfied.