Abstract: A liquid immersion member including: a first member provided in at least a portion of the surrounding of an optical member, including a first lower surface which can face an object facing the emission surface, and that forms a first immersion space of a first liquid in an optical path space on an emission surface side and at least a portion of a first space on a first lower surface side; a second member provided outside the first member with respect to the optical path, including a second lower surface which can face the object, and that forms a second immersion space of a second liquid in at least a portion of a second space on a second lower surface side; and a third member that restricts the movement of the first liquid from the first to the second space.

Abstract: An encoder, which measures a relative moving amount of a second member relative to a first member, includes: a diffraction grating provided on the first member; a light-incident optical member causing a measuring light to come into a grating pattern surface of the diffraction grating substantially perpendicularly; a first reflecting member provided on the second member and reflecting a diffracted light generated from the diffraction grating; a first direction-changing member changing a direction of the diffracted light; a first photo-detector detecting an interference light generated by interference between a double diffracted light and other diffracted light than the double diffracted light or a reference light, the double diffracted light being generated, via diffraction of the diffracted light, from the diffraction grating; and a measuring section which obtains the relative moving amount of the second member relative to the first member by using a detection signal from the first photo-detector.

Abstract: An exposure apparatus includes a substrate stage having a substrate holder to hold a substrate, a gap being formed between an edge of the held substrate and a surface surrounding the held substrate, and a controller that controls an exposure operation in which shot areas of the substrate are exposed sequentially and respectively with an image through liquid of a liquid immersion area which covers a portion of an upper surface of the substrate. The controller moves the substrate stage at a first speed to expose one of the shot areas to the image through the liquid, moves the substrate stage at a second speed, that is lower than the first speed, to expose another one of the shot areas to the image through the liquid, and during the exposing of the another one of the shot areas, the liquid immersion area is formed over a portion of the gap.

Abstract: A microscope apparatus configured to enlarge entrance pupils while maintaining the rotational symmetry of optical systems of a plurality of optical paths after ejection of light from an objective lens to bring out the performance of the objective lens. A microscope apparatus includes an objective lens having a function of collecting light from the object; and optical paths in which all lens groups are rotational symmetric systems and through which light exited from the objective lens passes, wherein when a sum of maximum diameters of entrance pupils of optical systems forming any two of the optical paths is set as ?Di, and an axial luminous flux diameter determined from a maximum aperture angle ? and a focal distance f of the objective lens is set as Dobj, a condition of the following expression is satisfied, ?Di>Dobj where Dobj=2·f·sin ?.

Abstract: An interchangeable lens to be detachably attached to a camera body, that includes a holding unit at which a plurality of contacts is arranged, the interchangeable lens includes: a first communication contact system arranged at the holding unit; and a second communication contact system different from the first communication contact system, arranged at the holding unit at a position different from a position at which the first communication contact system is arranged. The fourth contact is arranged at a position closer to the second communication contact system than the first contact, the second contact, and the third contact are, and the seventh contact and the eighth contact are arranged at positions closer to the first communication contact system than the fifth contact and the sixth contact are.

Abstract: An exposure apparatus which prevents the damage due to the liquid having flowed out from spreading and enables satisfactory performances of the exposure processes and the measurement processes is provided. An exposure apparatus (EX) includes a movable table (PT), a base member (41) having an upper surface (41A) that guides the movement of the table (PT), and a detecting device (60) that detects whether there is a liquid on the upper surface (41A) of the base member (41).

Abstract: An image processing apparatus provided with a display unit for displaying an operation picture, showing control indicia (e.g., icons) corresponding to multiple image processing functions, is operated to display the operation picture on an external display device. The operator selects one of the indicia shown on the external display device by operating an input device, such as touch screen of the apparatus or a remote control, to indicate the position of the desired one of the indicia. The operator can thereby quickly and reliably select an image processing function to be executed, without any need to view an operation picture on the display unit when making the selection.

Abstract: A power usage supply unit that supplies power usage to a stage which moves on a movement surface has a first axis section, first support section, a second axis section, and a second support section. The first axis section is movably supported by the first support section in a direction of the first axis and around the first axis, and the second axis section is movably supported by the second support section in a direction of the second axis and around the second axis. Using a mechanism in which the power usage supply unit has at least four degrees of freedom, the power usage supply unit does not interfere with the movement of a stage even when the stage moves in the first and second axis directions and in the rotational direction of each axis, thereby completely avoiding decrease in position controllability of the stage caused by dragging a tube.

Abstract: A zoom lens system has a front lens group and a rear lens group along the optical axis and in order from the object side. The rear lens group has a first lens unit having a positive refracting power, a second lens unit having a negative refracting power, and a third lens unit having a positive refracting power. Upon zooming from a wide-angle end state to a telephoto end state, a space between the front lens group and the first lens unit varies, a space between the first lens unit and the second lens unit increases, and a space between the second lens unit and the third lens unit decreases. At least a part of the second lens unit is movable so as to have a component in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis.

Abstract: A light concentrating optical element includes: a substrate; and a plurality of micro-optical members dispersed inside the substrate. The plurality of micro-optical members each direct light having been transmitted through the substrate and having entered a micro-optical member along an entering direction, so that the light exits the micro-optical member along a matching direction matching the entering direction, and direct light having entered the micro-optical member along an other entering direction, so that the light exits the micro-optical member along an exiting direction, resulting in an advancing direction of light having entered the substrate through a substrate front surface and advancing through the substrate being deflected via the plurality of micro-optical members to extend along the matching direction; and the light having been deflected so as to advance through the substrate along the matching direction is concentrated at an end area of the substrate.

Abstract: An electronic camera includes: an image-capturing unit with variable image-capturing sensitivity, which captures an image of a subject through a photographic lens; a brightness detection unit that detects subject brightness; an exposure calculation unit that executes an exposure calculation by using the image-capturing sensitivity set at the image-capturing unit and the detected subject brightness; a flash quantity calculation unit that calculates a main flash quantity for a flash unit that illuminates the subject when capturing an image thereof; and a sensitivity adjusting unit that adjusts the image-capturing sensitivity so as to achieve optimal exposure with a main flash quantity within a flash quantity control range of the flash unit when the main flash quantity calculated by the flash quantity calculation unit is outside the flash quantity control range.

Abstract: An image-capturing apparatus includes: a storage unit into which a plurality of image frames, generated based upon imaging signals provided from an image sensor that captures a subject image via a photographic optical system, are sequentially stored; an optical system drive unit that drives the photographic optical system in response to a still image shooting instruction; and a video data generation unit that generates image data to be played back in time series based upon the plurality of image frames stored into the storage unit over a predetermined time length during which the still image shooting instruction is issued.

Abstract: An illumination optical apparatus which constantly controls a plurality of polarization states with high accuracy. An illumination optical system, which illuminates a pattern surface of a mask with illumination light, includes a polarization optical system and a depolarizer. The polarization optical system includes a half wavelength plate and PBS, which varies a polarization state of the illumination light to form a linear polarization state having a predetermined polarization direction. The depolarizer is arranged toward the mask from the polarization optical system and varies the polarization state of the illumination light emitted from the polarization optical system.

Abstract: Various processes effectively execute updating of related information that is correlated to user selected information. For example, when a selected screen is touched by a pen or the like while an image corresponding to the selected image data is displayed on the screen, existing line drawing data (for example, a first character string) that is correlated to the image data and stored is displayed on the screen. In this instance, if new line drawing data (for example, a second character string) is input using the pen or the like, the new line drawing data is added to the existing line drawing data, and is correlated to the image data being displayed and stored. Different sound data can be correlated to selected image data. Different memo data also can be correlated user selected sound data.

Abstract: There is provided an inspection apparatus, including: an illumination section configured to irradiate a pattern, a detection section configured to detect a reflected light from the pattern, and a calculation section configured to compare a first change and a second change to calculate a deviation between the first and second changes. The first change which is a change, of a detection result of a pattern formed by a plurality of first exposure conditions, with respect to the first exposure conditions. The second change which is a change, of a detection result of a reflected light, from a pattern, generated by irradiating the pattern with the illumination light. The pattern is formed by a plurality of second exposure conditions each having a predetermined interval in a range which has at least one part overlapping with a range of the first exposure conditions, with respect to the second exposure conditions.

Abstract: A method for controlling a mover assembly (220C) includes the steps of: (i) providing a control system (224) that includes a feedback control (440), an iterative learning control (442), and a feedforward control (444); (ii) moving a stage (220A) through a first movement with the mover assembly (220C) being controlled with the control system (224); (iii) collecting first movement information relating to the first movement of the stage (220A) with the iterative learning control (442); (iv) adjusting the iterative learning control (442) using the first movement information; (v) repeating steps (ii) through (iv) until the iterative learning control (442) converges for the first movement; and (vi) adjusting the feedforward control (444) using Iterative information from the iterative learning control (442).

Abstract: An electronic camera comprises an image processing unit that performs image quality adjustment using a plurality of adjustment parameters, an information acquisition unit that acquires from an external device first image quality adjustment information including a parameter group for use with the image quality adjustment and an image quality adjustment algorithm that applies the parameter group, and a control unit that controls the image processing unit so that it performs image quality adjustment while applying the parameter group included in the first image quality adjustment information that has been acquired to the image quality adjustment algorithm included in the first image quality adjustment information that has been acquired.

Abstract: A profile measuring apparatus includes: a light source device from which a projection light is irradiated, the projection light having a light amount changing with lapse of time in a first period and a predetermined spatial distribution; an imaging element; a second period setting section which sets a second period including at least a part of the first period; and a profile information obtaining section which obtains an information of the profile of the object based on an image data taken by the imaging element in the second period. The second period setting section sets the second period based on a light amount of a light which comes into the imaging element at the time of an imaging performed before one imaging performed in the second period; and a light amount change pattern of the projection light changing with lapse of time in the first period.

Abstract: An image data processing device includes: a basic image data acquisition device that acquires basic image data; a simplified image data generation device that generates simplified image data corresponding to the basic image data which has been acquired, a size of the simplified image data being smaller than that of the basic image data; a transmission device that transmits at least the basic image data to an external storage device; and an internal storage device that stores the simplified image data without storing the basic image data.

Abstract: A surface inspection apparatus and a surface inspection method aim to securely deal with finer repetition pitch without shortening the wavelength of illumination light. To this end, the apparatus includes a unit illuminating repetitive pattern(s) formed on the substrate surface to be inspected with linearly polarized light, a unit setting to an oblique angle an angle between the direction of an intersecting line of a vibration plane of the linearly polarized light on the substrate surface and the repetition direction of repetitive pattern(s), a unit extracting a polarized light component perpendicular to the vibration plane of the linearly polarized light, from light having been emitted from the repetitive pattern(s) in a specular direction, and a unit detecting a defect of the repetitive pattern(s) according to the light intensity of the polarized light component.