Abstract:
An objective lens on which a beam having parallel light fluxes is incident includes a single element lens and a reflection suppressing coating formed on at least one surface of the single element lens. The reflection suppressing coating is formed such that the reflectivity across a radius of the objective lens exhibits a local maximal value, and the reflection suppressing coating is formed to achieve the following condition: 0.6
Abstract:
There is provided an objective lens for an optical pick-up used for different types of optical discs. The objective lens has at least one surface on which a plurality of annular zones are formed. The at least one surface is divided into an inner area having a low NA and an outer area having high NA outside the inner area. Further, with regard to a light beam used for a second optical disc (e.g., a DVD), an optical path difference generated between at least one of steps formed between adjacent annular zones of the plurality of annular zones within the outer area is lower by a predetermined amount than an integral multiple of a wavelength of the light beam used for the second optical disc.
Abstract:
An scanning optical system includes a light source having a plurality of light emitting points each of which emits a beam, a first optical system that collimates the beams emitted by the light emitting points in regard to a main scanning direction while converging the beams in an auxiliary scanning direction, a deflecting system that dynamically deflects the beams simultaneously in the main scanning direction, and a second optical system that converges the deflected beams on the scan target surface. Further, the second optical system includes a magnification adjustment element whose magnification mS in the main scanning direction on an optical axis thereof is approximately +1 and whose magnification mP in the auxiliary scanning direction on the optical axis thereof is approximately −1.
Abstract:
In a scanning optical system, a partial light blocking member having an annular light blocking part (for blocking off part of the incident laser beam entering the annular area around the central axis of the laser beam) is placed on an optical path between the laser light source and the polygon mirror. The scanning optical system including such a partial light blocking member is installed in a printer. By the effect of the partial light blocking member, the intensity of side lobes (several rings of light accompanying the main beam) is prevented from exceeding a threshold value even when optical surfaces of an imaging optical system of the scanning optical system have certain microscopic undulations, by which black stripes occurring in halftone printing can be eliminated.
Abstract:
An objective lens for recording data to and/or reproducing data from first and second optical discs. The objective lens is provided with at least one surface including a plurality of annular zones divided by steps. The steps has functions of phase shifting a wavefront of light passing through the plurality of annular zones so that a beam spot formed at a converging point of an average wavefront of the wavefront phase shifted by the steps is used for the first and second optical discs. The plurality of annular zones of the at least one surface includes at least one annular zone structure which includes first and second annular zone groups, each of which has at least three steps for phase shifting the wavefront in a first direction, and a first return step which is a step formed at a boundary between the first and second annular zone groups. The first return step phase shifts the wavefront in a second direction opposite to the first direction. An absolute value |Δψ1| of a phase shifting amount of the first light beam given by the first return step satisfies a condition: 6π
Abstract:
The invention provides a sample observation method capable of understanding the three-dimensional shape of a sample in a wider range. The observation method of the invention calculates heights (height differences) in the whole domain of an image, from plural sheets of images of different field-of-view angles, being in focus over the whole image, attained by means of the focal depth expanding function to thereby create a map (Z map) of the height information by each pixel, and displays a three-dimensional image as a bird's-eye view. The method also displays to superpose a Z map attained from image signals reflecting the surface structure on a Z map attained from image signals reflecting the composition information with different colors, which makes it possible to clearly understand the spatial distribution of a substance of unique composition inside the sample.
Abstract:
A single element objective lens for an optical disc drive converges a laser beam, which is emitted by a laser source, on a data recording surface of an optical disc through a protective layer of the optical disc. One surface of the objective lens is divided into a central area including an optical axis thereof and a peripheral area surrounding the central area. The peripheral area is provided with a diffraction lens structure formed by a plurality of concentric annular zones including minute steps. The central area is a continuous surface having no stepped portions. The diffraction lens structure compensates for variation of converging characteristic of the objective lens due to a change of a temperature.
Abstract:
A scanning drawing apparatus includes a light source, a beam separator for dividing the laser beam into a drawing beam and a monitor beam. A drawing optical path through which the drawing beam travels, and a monitor optical path through which the monitor beam travels are defined. The drawing beam passed through the drawing optical path and the monitor beam passed through the monitor optical path are combined by a beam combiner, and then deflected by a scanning deflector. The deflected beams pass through a scanning lens to form beam spots on an image surface and a monitor scale that is equivalent to the image surface, respectively. The monitor optical path has a different optical path length from the drawing optical path and/or effective diameters of optical elements in the monitor optical path is different from effective diameters of optical elements in the drawing optical path. A deviation of the beam spot of the drawing beam on the image surface due to an inclination or a shift of the light source is equal to a deviation of the beam spot of the monitor beam on the monitor scale in terms of directions and amounts.
Abstract:
An RFID tag includes an inlet on which an antenna pattern serving as an antenna for communication and an IC chip electrically connected to the antenna pattern are mounted. The RFID tag also includes an exterior body that encloses the inlet from outside and a hollow space that is formed by the inlet and the exterior body and that is filled with gas or a gel material.
Abstract:
There is provided an optical disc drive, which includes a light source emitting a light beam, a beam dividing element that divides the light beam into main and sub-beams, an objective lens, an astigmatism producing unit that gives astigmatism to the main and sub-beams, a signal generation unit that has sensors for the beams and generates a focus error signal based on output signals of the sensors; and an optical element that has a function of adjusting intensity distribution of the main beam such that the main beam incident on the optical disc has a predetermined intensity distribution where a maximum intensity level is positioned at a predetermined height within a range of 70% of a pupil diameter, the predetermined height is not equal to an optical axis, and an intensity of the main beam decreases gradually from the predetermined height to a peripheral portion of the pupil.