Abstract: A photolithography system is equipped with a light modulator that comprises a plurality of regularly arrayed light modulation elements; a scanning mechanism configured to move an exposure area relative to an object in a main scanning direction, in a state in which the exposure area is inclined in the main scanning direction; an exposure controller that controls the plurality of light-modulating elements in accordance with a given exposure pitch to carry out an overlapping exposure process in both the main scanning direction and a sub-scanning direction; and an exposure pitch adjuster that calculates an exposure pitch that allows exposure points to be distributed evenly on the basis of an effective area of the light modulator.

Abstract: In a multi-exposure drawing method for drawing a pattern on a drawing surface, using an exposure unit including a plurality of optical modulation elements arranged in both a first array-direction and a second array-direction, the exposure unit is moved in relation to the drawing surface in a drawing direction. The drawing direction is inclined to form an angle with respect to the first array-direction, whereby the exposure unit is gradually shifted in the second array-direction during the movement of the exposure unit. The modulation elements are successively and selectively operated based on pattern bit-data to thereby modulate a light beam made incident on each modulation element, whenever the exposure unit is moved in the drawing direction by a distance of “A+a”. “A” is a distance corresponding to an integer-multiple of a dimension of a unit exposure zone produced on the drawing surface by each modulation element, and “a” is a smaller distance than the dimension of the unit exposure.

Abstract: In a multi-exposure drawing method for drawing a pattern on a drawing surface, using an exposure unit including a plurality of optical modulation elements arranged in both a first array-direction and a second array-direction, the exposure unit is moved in relation to the drawing surface in a drawing direction. The drawing direction is inclined to form an angle with respect to the first array-direction, whereby the exposure unit is gradually shifted in the second array-direction during the movement of the exposure unit. The modulation elements are successively and selectively operated based on pattern bit-data to thereby modulate a light beam made incident on each modulation element, whenever the exposure unit is moved in the drawing direction by a distance of “A+a”.

Abstract: A multibeam scanning exposure device includes a light source for emitting a light beam, a multiple beam splitting element that is provided with a diffractive grating for dividing the light beam from the light source into a plurality of beams, a deflector for deflecting exit beams from the multiple beam splitting element, and a scanning lens for converging the deflected beams onto the photosensitive medium to form a plurality of scanning beam spots. The diffractive grating has a corrugated surface having a plurality of periodical patterns arranged in parallel at a predetermined fixed pitch. Since the incident light beam in the multiple beam splitting element from the light source is divided into a plurality of beams at once, there are no influence of the assembling error and therefore the arrangement of the beam spots on the photosensitive medium can be controlled accurately.