Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus of the present invention has a retaining base which retains a substrate, a device detecting undulation or thickness unevenness, and a control device which operates the detecting device. The substrate is deformed in a range of a field to be processed, by locally displacing the retaining base on the basis of the detected undulation or thickness unevenness of the substrate. Blurring of an image formed on the substrate can be thereby prevented.

Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus of the present invention has a retaining base which retains a substrate, a device detecting undulation or thickness unevenness, and a control device which operates the detecting device. The substrate is deformed in a range of a field to be processed, by locally displacing the retaining base on the basis of the detected undulation or thickness unevenness of the substrate. Blurring of an image formed on the substrate can be thereby prevented.

Abstract: A crystallization apparatus includes an illumination system which illuminates a phase-shift mask and an image-forming optical system arranged in an optical path between the phase-shift mask and a semiconductor film. The semiconductor film is irradiated with a light beam having a light intensity distribution of inverted peak patterns whose light intensity is the lowest in portions corresponding to phase shift sections to form a crystallized semiconductor film. The image-forming optical system is located to optically conjugate the phase-shift mask and the semiconductor film and has an aberration corresponding to the given wavelength range to form a light intensity distribution of inverted peak patterns with no swell of intensity in the middle portion.

Abstract: An exposure method includes the light incidence step of letting at least a part of light emitted from a light source for exposure use be incident on a mask supported by a supporting device, and the imaging step of forming an image of a mask pattern on a photosensitive material by guiding the reflecting light from the mask such that the photosensitive material supported by the supporting device receives the reflecting light coming from an incidence direction which is different from the incidence direction of the light incident on the mask.

Abstract: Disclosed is an exposure method and apparatus (aligner) for exposure wherein there is reduced a physical load put on a driving mechanism which moves a supporting device for supporting a mask and an exposure object which has a photosensitive material, and the structure of the driving mechanism is simplified.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a crystallization apparatus including an illumination system to illuminate a phase shift mask, which converts a light beam from the illumination system into a light beam that has a light intensity distribution of an inverse peak pattern having a minimum intensity in an area corresponding to a phase shift portion of the phase shift mask. The crystallization apparatus further includes an optical member to form on a predetermined plane a light intensity distribution of a concave pattern, which has a light intensity that is minimum in an area corresponding to the phase shift portion and increases toward the circumference of that area based on the light from the illumination system, and an image-forming optical system to set a surface of the polycrystalline semiconductor film or the amorphous semiconductor film or its conjugate plane and the predetermined plane to an optical conjugate relationship.

Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus of the present invention has a retaining base which retains a substrate, a device detecting undulation or thickness unevenness, and a control device which operates the detecting device. The substrate is deformed in a range of a field to be processed, by locally displacing the retaining base on the basis of the detected undulation or thickness unevenness of the substrate. Blurring of an image formed on the substrate can be thereby prevented.

Abstract: A crystallization apparatus includes an illumination system which applies illumination light for crystallization to a non-single-crystal semiconductor film, and a phase shifter which includes first and second regions disposed to form a straight boundary and transmitting the illumination light from the illumination system by a first phase retardation therebetween, and phase-modulates the illumination light to provide a light intensity distribution having an inverse peak pattern that light intensity falls in a zone of the non-single-crystal semiconductor film containing an axis corresponding to the boundary. The phase shifter further includes a small region which extends into at least one of the first and second regions from the boundary and transmits the illumination light by a second phase retardation with respect to the at least one of the first and second regions.

Abstract: A crystallization apparatus includes an optical illumination system to illuminate a phase shift mask and which irradiates an amorphous semiconductor film with a light beam having an inverse peak type light intensity distribution including a minimum light intensity in a point corresponding to a phase shift portion of the phase shift mask to produce a crystallized semiconductor film. A wavefront dividing element is disposed on a light path between the optical illumination system and the phase shift mask. The wavefront dividing element wavefront-divides the light beam supplied from the optical illumination system into a plurality of light beams, and condenses the wavefront-divided light beams in the corresponding phase shift portion or in the vicinity of the portion.

Abstract: A crystallization apparatus includes an illumination optical system to illuminate a phase shift mask and which irradiates an amorphous semiconductor film with a light beam having an intensity distribution of an inverse peak type having a smallest light intensity in a point corresponding to a phase shift portion of the phase shift mask to generate a crystallized semiconductor film. A convergence/divergence element is disposed on a light path between the illumination optical system and phase shift mask. The convergence/divergence element converts the light beam supplied from the illumination optical system into a light beam having an upward concave intensity distribution in which the light intensity is lowest in the phase shift portion and in which the light intensity increases as distant from the phase shift portion to irradiate the phase shift mask.

Abstract: Disclosed is an exposure method and apparatus (aligner) for exposure wherein there is reduced a physical load put on a driving mechanism which moves a supporting device for supporting a mask and an exposure object which has a photosensitive material, and the structure of the driving mechanism is simplified.

Abstract: There is disclosed an exposure method includes the light incidence step of letting at least a part of light emitted from a light source for exposure use be incident on a mask supported by a supporting device, and the imaging step of forming an image of a mask pattern on a photosensitive material by guiding the reflecting light from the mask such that the photosensitive material supported by the supporting device receives the reflecting light coming from an incidence direction which is different from the incidence direction of the light incident on the mask.

Abstract: In a projection type color liquid crystal display apparatus, a polarization conversion section receives a luminous flux from a light source to convert the luminous flux into a unified luminous flux having a single linearly-polarized direction. A color separation section receives the unified luminous flux to selectively reflect a plurality of color components of the unified luminous flux individually at different angles. Convex lenses of a microlens array converge the reflected color components into different pixels of a liquid crystal element.

Abstract: In a projection type color liquid crystal display apparatus, a polarization conversion section receives a luminous flux from a light source to convert the luminous flux into a unified luminous flux having a single linearly-polarized direction. A color separation section receives the unified luminous flux to selectively reflect a plurality of color components of the unified luminous flux individually at different angles. Convex lenses of a microlens array converge the reflected color components into different pixels of a liquid crystal element.

Abstract: In a projection type color liquid crystal display apparatus, a polarization conversion section receives a luminous flux from a light source to convert the luminous flux into a unified luminous flux having a single linearly-polarized direction. A color separation section receives the unified luminous flux to selectively reflect a plurality of color components of the unified luminous flux individually at different angles. Convex lenses of a microlens array converge the reflected color components into different pixels of a liquid crystal element.

Abstract: In a single panel color projection LCD, white light emitted from a light source is optically processed by an optical processing unit so as to convert three primary color beams obtained from the white light into predetermined polarized beams. All of the predetermined polarized beams may be P-polarized beams or S-polarized beams. Thereafter, the optical processing unit irradiates only the predetermined polarized beams onto the liquid crystal panel without an optical power loss. A color image which is given by the liquid crystal panel is projected onto a screen to be displayed in an enlarged form.

Abstract: A projection color liquid crystal display apparatus includes a light source, and a light separator to which light emitted from the light source is inputted. The light separator separates the light inputted thereto into color lights of the three primary colors of red, green and blue, converts each of the color lights into one of p-polarized light and s-polarized light and outputs the polarized lights. In a light path of the light outputted from the light separator, a liquid crystal display element having a plurality of pixels arranged corresponding to the individual color lights obtained by the color separation of the light separator and a projection lens for projecting the light outputted from the liquid crystal display element to a screen are disposed.

Abstract: An optically addressed liquid crystal light valve includes a first substrate on which a plurality of liquid crystal driving circuits are formed, a second substrate provided with a transparent electrode, and a ferroelectric liquid crystal sandwiched between the two substrates. Each liquid crystal driving circuit includes a plurality of photodetectors and a logic circuit. An optical logic device includes an optically addressed liquid crystal light valve explained above and a plurality of masks for selectively transmit a plurality of lights. The masks may be replaced by a wavelength selecting filter including a plurality of regions each transmit a light having a specific wavelength to a corresponding photodetector of the light valve.

Abstract: An optically-addressed liquid crystal light valve comprises a transparent insulating substrate having either one-dimensional or two-dimensional arrays of optical switching elements thereon which can perform switching with an incident light, another opposing transparent substrate having transparent electrodes and a liquid crystal sandwiched therebetween. Each of the light switching elements comprises a photo-detector circuit and a thin-film-transistor (TFT) drive circuit. The photo-detector circuit comprises a serially connected photodiode and a passive element such as capacitor or resistor. The TFT drive circuit receives as input the voltage produced from the photo-detector circuit, while the output voltage from the TFT drive circuit is applied to one pixel electrode for the liquid crystal.