Laser process apparatus

Claim 2

The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said projection optical system includes a telecentric optical system.

Claim 3

The apparatus according to claim 1, which further comprises: a first illumination optical system for illuminating the work from a side of said excimer laser, and wherein said measurement optical system is arranged at a side of the work opposite to a side where said excimer laser is arranged.

Claim 4

The apparatus according to claim 3, which further comprises: a second illumination optical system for illuminating the work from a side of the work opposite to the side where said excimer laser is arranged.

Claim 5

The apparatus according to claim 1, which further comprises: a fly-eye lens and a field lens which are arranged in turn from the side of said excimer laser on a laser optical path between said excimer laser and said mask; and a beam shaping optical system, arranged on the laser optical path between said excimer laser and said fly-eye lens, for shaping the laser light emitted from said excimer laser into beams suitable for said fly-eye lens.

Claim 6

The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said beam shaping optical system comprises a splitting optical system for splitting the laser light into beams corresponding in number to arrays of said fly-eye lens in a direction perpendicular to a plane defined by the laser optical axis and an aligning direction of the small holes of said mask.

Claim 7

The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said splitting optical system of said beam shaping optical system comprises a prism.

Claim 8

The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said work is an ink discharge portion of a recording apparatus for performing recording by discharging an ink, and said laser process apparatus simultaneously forms a plurality of holes for discharging the ink in the work by the laser.

Claim 9

The apparatus according to claim 1, which further comprises: fixing means for fixing said mask.

Claim 10

The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said fixing means comprises a mask holder and a mask press, which sandwich said mask therebetween to support said mask, a plurality of aligning reference holes are formed in said mask, a plurality of reference pins corresponding to the plurality of reference holes formed in said mask are arranged on one of said mask holder and said mask press, and a plurality of reference holes similar to the plurality of reference holes formed in said mask are formed in the other one of said mask holder and said mask press.

Claim 11

A laser process apparatus, which forms holes in a work according to a desired pattern shape, comprising: a laser light source; a mask formed with a mask pattern having the desired pattern shape; a mask holder for arranging said mask on an optical axis of laser light emitted from said laser light source; a projection optical system for radiating the laser light passing through said mask pattern onto the work; a mask holder which is arranged to cover a portion, excluding said mask pattern, of said mask on the side of said light source; a mask press for fixing said mask to said mask holder; and mask cooling means, arranged in said mask holder, for cooling said mask.

Claim 12

The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said mask cooling means comprises a flow path, which is formed in said mask holder, and through which cooling water for cooling said mask flows.

Claim 13

The apparatus according to claim 11, which further comprises: a light-shielding plate which is arranged on the laser optical axis between said laser light source and said mask holder, and is formed with a window for radiating the laser light on only said mask pattern of said mask.

Claim 14

The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said work is an ink-jet head, and said mask pattern formed in said mask is formed to have a shape corresponding to ink discharge orifices of said ink-jet head.

Claim 15

A hole forming process position aligning method used when a plurality of holes are formed at predetermined process positions on a process surface of a work using laser light, comprising: the radiation step of converting the laser light into desired light beams in correspondence with the plurality of holes to be formed, and radiating the light beams onto the process positions on the process surface; the reference value defining step of defining central positions of at least two light beams radiated on the process surface as position reference values; the measurement step of measuring the process positions, irradiated with said at least two light beams, on the process surface of the work; the calculation step of calculating position shift amounts between the process positions and the reference positions by comparing the measured process positions with the corresponding position reference values; and the moving step of moving the work on the basis of the calculated position shift amounts.

Claim 16

The method according to claim 15, wherein the reference value defining step includes the step of defining the position reference values indicating the central positions of said at least two light beams on the basis of central positions of holes formed by said at least two light beams.

Claim 17

A laser process apparatus, which comprises a laser light source, and a projection optical system for radiating laser light emitted from said laser light source onto a process surface of a work mounted on a moving stage, and is arranged to form a plurality of holes at predetermined process positions on the process surface of the work, comprising: a mask which is arranged between said laser light source and said projection optical system, and is formed with a mask pattern for converting the laser light into desired laser light beams corresponding to the plurality of holes to be formed; storage means for storing position reference values indicating central positions of at least two holes of processed holes formed in a processed work; a transmission illumination system for illuminating the process surface of a non-processed work from a side of said laser light source; a reflection optical system for illuminating said at least two processed holes of said processed work from a side opposite to a side where said laser light source is arranged; an observation optical system for, when the process surface of said non-processed work is illuminated by said transmission illumination system, observing the process positions corresponding to said at least two processed holes, and for, when said at least two processed holes of said processed work are illuminated by said reflection optical system, observing said at least two processed holes; an image processing system for obtaining position measurement values indicating the process positions observed by said observation optical system, and for obtaining hole central positions of said at least two processed holes observed by said observation optical system; and a control system for calculating position shift amounts by comparing the position measurement values obtained by said image processing system with the corresponding position reference values stored in said storage means, driving said moving stage on the basis of the calculated position shift amounts, and storing the hole central positions obtained by said image processing system in said storage means as the position reference values.

Claim 18

The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the work comprises a top member of an ink-jet head, which member is formed with a plurality of parallel groove holes serving as ink flow paths, and comprises an orifice plate, said mask is formed with said mask pattern for forming ink discharge orifices communicating with the plurality of groove holes in said orifice plate of said ink-jet head, and the position measurement values obtained by said image processing system are central positions of the groove holes.

Claim 19

A laser process apparatus, in which a plurality of holes are formed in a work by radiating laser light onto the work through a mask formed with a plurality of openings each having a predetermined shape, comprising: mask position adjustment means for moving said mask to an arbitrary position; a measurement optical system for measuring positions of the plurality of holes formed in the work; and a control system for calculating a shift amount of said mask with respect to the laser light on the basis of the positions of the plurality of holes measured by said measurement optical system, and correcting the shift amount by moving said mask through said mask position adjustment means.

Claim 20

The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the plurality of openings each having the predetermined shape and formed in said mask correspond to ink discharge orifices to be formed in an orifice plate of an ink-jet head, and the work is the ink-jet head formed with a plurality of parallel grooves serving as ink flow paths.

Claim 21

A laser process apparatus, in which a plurality of holes are formed in a work by radiating laser light onto the work through a mask formed with a plurality of openings each having a predetermined shape, comprising: mask position adjustment means for moving said mask to an arbitrary position; a measurement optical system for measuring areas of the plurality of holes formed in the work; and a control system for calculating a shift amount of said mask with respect to the laser light on the basis of the areas of the plurality of holes measured by said measurement optical system, and correcting the shift amount by moving said mask through said mask position adjustment means.

Claim 22

The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the plurality of openings each having the predetermined shape and formed in said mask correspond to ink discharge orifices to be formed in an orifice plate of an ink-jet head, and the work is the ink-jet head formed with a plurality of parallel grooves serving as ink flow paths.