Patents by Inventor Michio Kono

Michio Kono has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11966043
    Abstract: An imaging optical system comprises adjusters for adjusting a shape of each of at least two reflecting surfaces by applying a force to a rear surface of each of the reflecting surfaces. Points obtained by projecting force acting points of the adjusters in an optical axis direction defined with respect to the reflecting surface are defined as correction points, the acting points are set such that, when first and second rays in a light flux emitted from one point on the object plane are reflected by first and second reflecting surfaces, the first ray strikes the correction point of the first reflecting surface but does not strike the correction point of the second reflecting surface, and the second ray does not strike the correction point of the first reflecting surface but strikes the correction point of the second reflecting surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2024
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Michio Kono
  • Publication number: 20220390853
    Abstract: An illumination optical system of the present invention includes a first lens array FE including a plurality of lens cells dividing a light flux emitted from a light source into a plurality of light fluxes, a second lens array MLAi including lens cells on which spot lights exiting from the lens cells included in the first lens array FE are condensed, and a first optical member IL3 imaging the spot light, which has been condensed on the lens cell included in the second lens array MLAi, on one of optical modulation elements constituting an optical modulation unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 15, 2022
    Publication date: December 8, 2022
    Inventor: Michio Kono
  • Patent number: 11448969
    Abstract: An illumination optical system of the present invention includes a first lens array FE including a plurality of lens cells dividing a light flux emitted from a light source into a plurality of light fluxes, a second lens array MLAi including lens cells on which spot lights exiting from the lens cells included in the first lens array FE are condensed, and a first optical member IL3 imaging the spot light, which has been condensed on the lens cell included in the second lens array MLAi, on one of optical modulation elements constituting an optical modulation unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2022
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Michio Kono
  • Publication number: 20220011571
    Abstract: An imaging optical system comprises adjusters for adjusting a shape of each of at least two reflecting surfaces by applying a force to a rear surface of each of the reflecting surfaces. Points obtained by projecting force acting points of the adjusters in an optical axis direction defined with respect to the reflecting surface are defined as correction points, the acting points are set such that, when first and second rays in a light flux emitted from one point on the object plane are reflected by first and second reflecting surfaces, the first ray strikes the correction point of the first reflecting surface but does not strike the correction point of the second reflecting surface, and the second ray does not strike the correction point of the first reflecting surface but strikes the correction point of the second reflecting surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 8, 2021
    Publication date: January 13, 2022
    Inventor: Michio Kono
  • Patent number: 11215930
    Abstract: An exposure apparatus according to the present invention includes an illumination optical system including a first optical modulation unit having a plurality of optical modulation elements, a second optical modulation unit having a plurality of optical modulation elements, and an imaging optical system forming optical images on a predetermined plane by using lights from the first optical modulation unit and the second optical modulation unit, and a projection optical system projecting the optical image formed on the predetermined plane onto a substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2022
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Michio Kono
  • Patent number: 11187988
    Abstract: An exposure apparatus according to the present invention includes an illumination optical system including a first optical modulation unit having a plurality of optical modulation elements, a second optical modulation unit having a plurality of optical modulation elements, and an imaging optical system forming optical images on a predetermined plane by using lights from the first optical modulation unit and the second optical modulation unit, and a projection optical system projecting the optical image formed on the predetermined plane onto a substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2021
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Michio Kono
  • Patent number: 11099488
    Abstract: An exposure apparatus according to the present invention includes a projection optical system projecting, onto a substrate, exposure light for forming a pattern on the substrate, a light shielding member having an opening for allowing the exposure light to pass therethrough, a focus detecting unit detecting a defocus amount representing a positional deviation between a condensed position of the exposure light and the substrate, a light receiving element receiving a light flux passing through the opening in the light shielding member after being reflected by the substrate, and a control unit moving the light shielding member in a direction of an optical axis of the projection optical system on the basis of a result of detection in the focus detecting unit. The focus detecting unit detects the defocus amount on the basis of the amount of light received by the light receiving element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2021
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Michio Kono
  • Patent number: 10921717
    Abstract: An exposure apparatus includes a projection optical system configured to project, onto a substrate, exposure light for forming a pattern on the substrate; a light shielding member having an opening for allowing light reflected by the substrate to pass therethrough and a light receiving element configured to receive a light flux passing through the opening after being reflected by the substrate; and a control unit configured to perform focus control for changing a defocus amount representing a positional deviation between a condensed position of the exposure light and the substrate in accordance with the amount of light received by the light receiving element. The light shielding member is disposed at a position that is optically conjugate to the substrate in an in-focus state where the defocus is smaller than a predetermined amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2021
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Michio Kono
  • Publication number: 20200301287
    Abstract: An exposure apparatus according to the present invention includes an illumination optical system including a first optical modulation unit having a plurality of optical modulation elements, a second optical modulation unit having a plurality of optical modulation elements, and an imaging optical system forming optical images on a predetermined plane by using lights from the first optical modulation unit and the second optical modulation unit, and a projection optical system projecting the optical image formed on the predetermined plane onto a substrate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 11, 2020
    Publication date: September 24, 2020
    Inventor: Michio Kono
  • Publication number: 20200249583
    Abstract: An exposure apparatus according to the present invention includes a projection optical system projecting, onto a substrate, exposure light for forming a pattern on the substrate, a light shielding member having an opening for allowing the exposure light to pass therethrough, a focus detecting unit detecting a defocus amount representing a positional deviation between a condensed position of the exposure light and the substrate, a light receiving element receiving a light flux passing through the opening in the light shielding member after being reflected by the substrate, and a control unit moving the light shielding member in a direction of an optical axis of the projection optical system on the basis of a result of detection in the focus detecting unit. The focus detecting unit detects the defocus amount on the basis of the amount of light received by the light receiving element.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 21, 2020
    Publication date: August 6, 2020
    Inventor: Michio Kono
  • Publication number: 20200249580
    Abstract: An illumination optical system of the present invention includes a first lens array FE including a plurality of lens cells dividing a light flux emitted from a light source into a plurality of light fluxes, a second lens array MLAi including lens cells on which spot lights exiting from the lens cells included in the first lens array FE are condensed, and a first optical member IL3 imaging the spot light, which has been condensed on the lens cell included in the second lens array MLAi, on one of optical modulation elements constituting an optical modulation unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 20, 2020
    Publication date: August 6, 2020
    Inventor: Michio Kono
  • Publication number: 20200249582
    Abstract: An exposure apparatus includes a projection optical system configured to project, onto a substrate, exposure light for forming a pattern on the substrate; a light shielding member having an opening for allowing light reflected by the substrate to pass therethrough; and a light receiving element configured to receive a light flux passing through the opening after being reflected by the substrate. In the exposure apparatus, focus control for changing a defocus amount is performed in accordance with the amount of light received by the light receiving element.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 20, 2020
    Publication date: August 6, 2020
    Inventor: Michio Kono
  • Patent number: 10578846
    Abstract: The present invention provides a projection optical system including a first concave reflecting surface, a first convex reflecting surface, a second concave reflecting surface, and a third concave reflecting surface, wherein the first concave reflecting surface, the first convex reflecting surface, the second concave reflecting surface, and the third concave reflecting surface are arranged such that light from an object plane forms an image on an image plane by being reflected by the first concave reflecting surface, the first convex reflecting surface, the second concave reflecting surface, the first convex reflecting surface, and the third concave reflecting surface in an order named.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2020
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Michio Kono, Kiyoshi Fukami, Ryosuke Fukuoka
  • Publication number: 20180341093
    Abstract: The present invention provides a projection optical system including a first concave reflecting surface, a first convex reflecting surface, a second concave reflecting surface, and a third concave reflecting surface, wherein the first concave reflecting surface, the first convex reflecting surface, the second concave reflecting surface, and the third concave reflecting surface are arranged such that light from an object plane forms an image on an image plane by being reflected by the first concave reflecting surface, the first convex reflecting surface, the second concave reflecting surface, the first convex reflecting surface, and the third concave reflecting surface in an order named.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 1, 2018
    Publication date: November 29, 2018
    Inventors: Michio Kono, Kiyoshi Fukami, Ryosuke Fukuoka
  • Patent number: 10067325
    Abstract: The present invention provides a projection optical system including a first concave reflecting surface, a first convex reflecting surface, a second concave reflecting surface, and a third concave reflecting surface, wherein the first concave reflecting surface, the first convex reflecting surface, the second concave reflecting surface, and the third concave reflecting surface are arranged such that light from an object plane forms an image on an image plane by being reflected by the first concave reflecting surface, the first convex reflecting surface, the second concave reflecting surface, the first convex reflecting surface, and the third concave reflecting surface in an order named.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2018
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Michio Kono, Kiyoshi Fukami, Ryosuke Fukuoka
  • Publication number: 20180106989
    Abstract: The present invention provides a projection optical system including a first concave reflecting surface, a first convex reflecting surface, a second concave reflecting surface, and a third concave reflecting surface, wherein the first concave reflecting surface, the first convex reflecting surface, the second concave reflecting surface, and the third concave reflecting surface are arranged such that light from an object plane forms an image on an image plane by being reflected by the first concave reflecting surface, the first convex reflecting surface, the second concave reflecting surface, the first convex reflecting surface, and the third concave reflecting surface in an order named.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 10, 2017
    Publication date: April 19, 2018
    Inventors: Michio KONO, Kiyoshi FUKAMI, Ryosuke FUKUOKA
  • Patent number: 8294874
    Abstract: A scanning exposure apparatus has plural projection optical systems having plural mirrors configured to form an optical-axis shift vector. Its component in a direction orthogonal to a scanning direction is set so that adjacent areas in plural areas on the original can adjoin each other when viewed from the direction orthogonal to the scanning direction and adjacent areas in plural areas on the substrate can adjoin each other when viewed from the direction. A size of its component in the scanning direction is set so that a product between the imaging magnification of each projection optical system and a distance between centers of two areas on the original in the scanning direction corresponding to two projection optical systems in the plurality of projection optical systems can be equal to a distance between centers of two areas on the substrate corresponding to the two projection optical systems in the scanning direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2012
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Michio Kono
  • Patent number: 8174679
    Abstract: The present invention provides an illumination optical system which illuminates a surface to be illuminated with light from a light source, the illumination optical system including a plurality of illumination systems configured to form predetermined illumination regions with the light from the light source, an optical system having reflecting surfaces, which are configured to reflect the light beams from the illumination systems, respectively for the plurality of illumination systems, and a light-shielding unit configured to shield a certain light component in a composite illumination region formed by the light from the optical system to shape a shape of the composite illumination region, wherein one continuous composite illumination region is formed on the surface to be illuminated by connecting the respective illumination regions by reflecting the light beams from the plurality of illumination systems by the reflecting surfaces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2012
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Michio Kono
  • Patent number: 7864296
    Abstract: An exposure apparatus for exposing a pattern of a reticle onto a plate using a light from a light source and an optical system includes a measuring part for obtaining polarization information of the light that has passed the optical system, the polarization information including at least one of polarized light intensities, a ratio between the polarized light intensities, a degree of polarization, and a retardation of two orthogonal directions that are both parallel to the optical axis, and a controller for controlling, based on a measurement result by the measuring part, at least one exposure parameter of the light source and the optical system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2011
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Takahashi, Koji Mikami, Michio Kono
  • Publication number: 20090219498
    Abstract: The present invention provides an illumination optical system which illuminates a surface to be illuminated with light from a light source, the illumination optical system including a plurality of illumination systems configured to form predetermined illumination regions with the light from the light source, an optical system having reflecting surfaces, which are configured to reflect the light beams from the illumination systems, respectively for the plurality of illumination systems, and a light-shielding unit configured to shield a certain light component in a composite illumination region formed by the light from the optical system to shape a shape of the composite illumination region, wherein one continuous composite illumination region is formed on the surface to be illuminated by connecting the respective illumination regions by reflecting the light beams from the plurality of illumination systems by the reflecting surfaces.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 20, 2009
    Publication date: September 3, 2009
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Michio Kono