Abstract: A condensing optical system having a condensed light spot with a small size and a large focal depth without causing a problem of a decrease in intensity of the condensed light spot or discontinuity of an intensity distribution in front and rear areas of a focal position is provided. The condensing optical system that condenses a laser beam generated by a laser source at a predetermined focal length is designed to satisfy Expressions (a) to (d), thereby producing 3rd and 5th spherical aberrations: |Z8|?0.1? or |Z15|?0.05?,??(a) Z8/Z15?3 or Z8/Z15<1,??(b) |Z8|<1.4?, and??(c) |Z15|<0.5?,??(d) where ? is a wavelength, Z8 is an 8th coefficient of coefficients of the Zernike fringe polynomial of wavefront aberration corresponding to a 3rd order spherical aberration, and Z15 is a 15th coefficient of the coefficients of the Zernike fringe polynomial of wavefront aberration corresponding to a 5th spherical aberration.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a laser processing method and laser processing apparatus for enabling improvement and maintenance of homogenization of a beam intensity distribution in an irradiated region. The laser processing apparatus comprises, at least, an ASE light generation section for emitting ASE light, and a homogenizer for splitting the ASE light into multiple beams. The ASE generation section for emitting the ASE light as processing laser light is provided, and whereby the deterioration of homogenization due to inter-beam interference is suppressed. The homogenization of beam intensity distribution is improved by locating a condenser lens relative to an object such that the object is shifted from a focus position of the condenser lens in the homogenizer, by intentionally deteriorating a beam quality M2 of the ASE light itself emitted from the ASE light generation section to about 2 to 10, or by a combination of these, in laser processing.

Abstract: Ultrashort pulse laser processing bores, welds or cuts objects (work pieces) by converging ultrashort laser pulses by a lens on the objects (work pieces) positioned at the focus and heating small spots or narrow lines on the objects (work pieces). Shortage of a focal depth of the lens prevents the ultrashort pulse laser processing from positioning the object (a work piece) and forming a deep, constant-diameter cylindrical hole. Z-parameter is defined to be Z=2fc?t/?i2, where ?t is a FWHM pulse width of the ultrashort pulse laser, ?i is a FWHM beam diameter of the ultrashort pulse, f is a focal length of the lens and c is the light velocity in vacuum. Selection of an optical system including a diffraction-type lens which gives the Z-parameter less than 1 (Z<1) prolongs the focal depth. Expansion of the focal depth facilitates the positioning of objects (work pieces) and enables the ultrashort pulse laser apparatus to bore a deep, constant-diameter cylindrical hole.

Abstract: In a laser optical device including a beam shaping optical system 3 for shaping a laser beam 2 into a predetermined cross-sectional intensity distribution and converging the light and an image formation optical system 6 for forming an image of a shaped beam 4 shaped and converged through the beam shaping optical system 3, the image formation optical system 6 is made up of an objective lens system 8 having a negative focal length placed ahead of a focal plane 7 of the beam shaping optical system 3 and an imaging lens system 9 placed behind the objective lens system 8.

Abstract: A condensing optical system having a condensed light spot with a small size and a large focal depth without causing a problem of a decrease in intensity of the condensed light spot or discontinuity of an intensity distribution in front and rear areas of a focal position is provided. The condensing optical system that condenses a laser beam generated by a laser source at a predetermined focal length is designed to satisfy Expressions (a) to (d), thereby producing 3rd and 5th spherical aberrations: |Z8|?0.1? or |Z15|?0.05?, ??(a) Z8/Z15?3 or Z8/Z15<1, ??(b) |Z8|<1.4?, and ??(c) |Z15|<0.5?, ??(d) where ? is a wavelength, Z8 is an 8th coefficient of coefficients of the Zernike fringe polynomial of wavefront aberration corresponding to a 3rd order spherical aberration, and Z15 is a 15th coefficient of the coefficients of the Zernike fringe polynomial of wavefront aberration corresponding to a 5th spherical aberration.

Abstract: A conventional diffractive optical element (DOE), which consists of repetition of a unit pattern , has an advantage of applicability of the Fast Fourier Transform algorithm to calculate diffraction beam spots intensities on lattice points on an image plane. But, the conventional DOE has a drawback of impossibility of diffracting a laser beam off the lattice points. This invention designs a DOE by giving arbitrary complex amplitude transmittance {tmn} to every pixel (m, n), calculating actual Fourier transform from {tmn} to intensity W(?, ?), and obtaining intensity of a diffraction beam directing in any ? and ? direction. Since ?, ? are not necessary to be on lattice points, the FFT is of no use. Angular resolutions U and V satisfy inequalities U<?/aR and V<?/bS, where ? is a wavelength, aR and bS are the size of the DOE. The DOE can produce multidiffracted beams anywhere on an image and can irradiate a plurality of arbitrary arranged points simultaneously with high precision.

Abstract: In a laser optical device including a beam shaping optical system 3 for shaping a laser beam 2 into a predetermined cross-sectional intensity distribution and converging the light and an image formation optical system 6 for forming an image of a shaped beam 4 shaped and converged through the beam shaping optical system 3, the image formation optical system 6 is made up of an objective lens system 8 having a negative focal length placed ahead of a focal plane 7 of the beam shaping optical system 3 and an imaging lens system 9 placed behind the objective lens system 8.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a laser processing method and laser processing apparatus for enabling improvement and maintenance of homogenization of a beam intensity distribution in an irradiated region. The laser processing apparatus comprises, at least, an ASE light generation section for emitting ASE light, and a homogenizer for splitting the ASE light into multiple beams. The ASE generation section for emitting the ASE light as processing laser light is provided, and whereby the deterioration of homogenization due to inter-beam interference is suppressed. The homogenization of beam intensity distribution is improved by locating a condenser lens relative to an object such that the object is shifted from a focus position of the condenser lens in the homogenizer, by intentionally deteriorating a beam quality M2 of the ASE light itself emitted from the ASE light generation section to about 2 to 10, or by a combination of these, in laser processing.

Abstract: A single lens homogenizer for converting a wide, parallel, in-phase Gaussian beam into a narrow uniform-power beam and shooting an object with the narrow uniform-power beam is proposed. A tilt error induces beam deformation. A single lens homogenizer which can reduce the beam deformation induced by the tilt error is proposed. A suitable homogenizer is a convex/flat lens having a convex aspherical surface on the light source side and a flat surface on the object side. Another preferable homogenizer is a convex/convex lens having a convex surface on the light source side and a convex surface on the object side. At least one of the convex surfaces is an aspherical convex surface.

Abstract: Ultrashort pulse laser processing bores, welds or cuts objects (work pieces) by converging ultrashort laser pulses by a lens on the objects (work pieces) positioned at the focus and heating small spots or narrow lines on the objects (work pieces). Shortage of a focal depth of the lens prevents the ultrashort pulse laser processing from positioning the object (a work piece) and forming a deep, constant-diameter cylindrical hole. Z-parameter is defined to be Z=2fc?t/?i2, where ?t is a FWHM pulse width of the ultrashort pulse laser, ?i is a FWHM beam diameter of the ultrashort pulse, f is a focal length of the lens and c is the light velocity in vacuum. Selection of an optical system including a diffraction-type lens which gives the Z-parameter less than 1 (Z<1) prolongs the focal depth. Expansion of the focal depth facilitates the positioning of objects (work pieces) and enables the ultrashort pulse laser apparatus to bore a deep, constant-diameter cylindrical hole.

Abstract: A conventional diffractive optical element (DOE), which consists of repetition of a unit pattern ?, has an advantage of applicability of the Fast Fourier Transform algorithm to calculate diffraction beam spots intensities on lattice points on an image plane. But, the conventional DOE has a drawback of impossibility of diffracting a laser beam off the lattice points. This invention designs a DOE by giving arbitrary complex amplitude transmittance {tmn} to every pixel (m, n), calculating actual Fourier transform from {tmn} to intensity W(?, ?), and obtaining intensity of a diffraction beam directing in any a and 0 direction. Since ?, ? are not necessary to be on lattice points, the FFT is of no use. Angular resolutions U and V satisfy inequalities U<?/aR and V<?/bS, where ? is a wavelength, aR and bS are the size of the DOE. The DOE can produce multidiffracted beams anywhere on an image and can irradiate a plurality of arbitrary arranged points simultaneously with high precision.

Abstract: A laser beam emitted from a laser source is split by a beam-splitting means such as a beam sampler, and the power Q of the split beam is measured by a first detector. In addition, the power q1 of light that has passed through a pinhole while a DOE is not set is measured by a second detector, and the power ratio ?=q1/Q is calculated. Then, the DOE is set and the power ratio ?k=qk/Q, where qk is the power of each light beam, is calculated. The power ratio ?k is evaluated on the basis of the power ratio ?, so the optical properties of a diffractive optical element, in particular, in terms of diffraction efficiency in laser-beam diffraction and intensity uniformity of split beams can be measured with high accuracy.

Abstract: A single lens homogenizer for converting a wide, parallel, in-phase Gaussian beam into a narrow uniform-power beam and shooting an object with the narrow uniform-power beam is proposed. A tilt error induces beam deformation. A single lens homogenizer which can reduce the beam deformation induced by the tilt error is proposed. A suitable homogenizer is a convex/flat lens having a convex aspherical surface on the light source side and a flat surface on the object side. Another preferable homogenizer is a convex/convex lens having a convex surface on the light source side and a convex surface on the object side. At least one of the convex surfaces is an aspherical convex surface.

Abstract: Purpose: To provide a laundry system with improved customer services by utilizing portable information terminals having a radiocommunication function such as mobile phones and PHS. Constitution: Upon completion of washing or drying in a laundry machine 102, data for notifying the user of the completion of the treatment are transmitted to the user's mobile phone 100. In addition, when a prescribed time, for example, 10 minutes, elapses after washing or drying finished, a request for permission to unload the laundry is transmitted to the user's mobile phone 100 so as to ask the user whether the clothes can be taken out from the laundry machine 102 or not. The system charges the user when a prohibition response is sent back or there is no response to the request for permission to unload the laundry.

Abstract: The present invention provides a different optical element having superior optical characteristics. A polycrystalline substrate having crystal grains whose sizes are not more than 1 &mgr;m or an amorphous phase at the dry-etched surface thereof, or an upper film layer 8 formed on a polycrystalline substrate 1 being the same materials as that of the polycrystalline substrate 1, which has finer crystal grains than-those of the substrate. The upper film layer 8 is dry etched, and AR coat 6 is formed thereon.

Abstract: A laser beam emitted from a laser source is split by a beam-splitting means such as a beam sampler, and the power Q of the split beam is measured by a first detector. In addition, the power q1 of light that has passed through a pinhole while a DOE is not set is measured by a second detector, and the power ratio &agr;=q1/Q is calculated. Then, the DOE is set and the power ratio &bgr;k=qk/Q, where qk is the power of each light beam, is calculated. The power ratio &bgr;k is evaluated on the basis of the power ratio &agr;, so the optical properties of a diffractive optical element, in particular, in terms of diffraction efficiency in laser-beam diffraction and intensity uniformity of split beams can be measured with high accuracy.

Abstract: In the design of a lens system, lens parameters are determined by minimizing a merit function which is a sum of squares of ray aberrations or wavefront errors at many sampling points. Prior methods often select the parameters which give very narrow tolerances to production errors. The small tolerance increases the difficulty of production. In order to increase the tolerances, states which allot errors ±&dgr; to some chosen parameters are considered. Merit functions corresponding the error-allotted states are made. An integrated merit function is produced by adding the error-allotted merit functions to the non-error allotted normal merit function. Parameters are determined by minimizing the integrated merit function. The optimized parameters will give wider tolerances for the error-allotted parameters. DOE (diffraction optical elements) design includes the steps of considering error-allotted states S1, S2, . . . in addition to a non-error state S0, making merit functions E1, E2, . . . for S1, S2, . . .

Abstract: In the design of a lens system, lens parameters are determined by minimizing a merit function which is a sum of squares of ray aberrations or wavefront errors at many sampling points. Prior methods often select the parameters which give very narrow tolerances to production errors. The small tolerance increases the difficulty of production. In order to increase the tolerance, states which allot errors ±&dgr; to some chosen parameters are considered. Merit functions corresponding the error-allotted states are made. An integrated merit function is produced by adding the error-allotted merit functions to the non-error allotted normal merit function. Parameters are determined by minimizing the integrated merit function. The optimized parameters will give wider tolerances for the error-allotted parameters.

Abstract: A laser hole boring apparatus comprising a galvanomirror beam scanning system, a DOE beam diffraction system and a selecting device for the two systems optionally. The DOE system bores many holes simultaneously on printed circuit boards or packages by converting a laser beam into two dimensional diffraction beams and converging the diffraction beams by an f sin &thgr; lens into spots on the object (board, package). The galvanomirror system bores many holes sequentially on printed circuit boards or packages by scanning a pulse laser beam in two dimensions and converging the scanned beam by an f sin &thgr; lens into a spot on the object.

Abstract: The present invention provides a diffractive optical element having superior optical characteristics.

Abstract: RNA enzymes or ribozymes can act as endoribonucleases, catalyzing the cleavage of RNA molecules with a sequence specificity of cleavage greater than that of known ribonucleases and approaching that of the DNA restriction endonucleases, thus serving as RNA sequence specific endoribonucleases. An example is a shortened form of the self-splicing ribonsomal RNA intervening sequence of Tetrahymena (L-19 IVS RNA). Site-specific mutagenesis of the enzyme active site of the L-19 IVS RNA alters the substrate sequence specificity in a predictable manner, allowing a set of sequence-specific endoribonucleases to be synthesized. Varying conditions allow the ribozyme to act as a polymerase (nucleotidyltransferase), a dephosphorylase (acid phosphatase or phosphotransferase) or a sequence-specific endoribonuclease.