Projection optical system for use in precise copy

Claim 2

A projection optical system for use in making a precise copy, comprising: a pair of catadioptric optical systems each including an associated phase correction member, a convex mirror member having an opening at the center, and a concave mirror member having an opening at the center thereof, said convex mirror member and said concave member being arranged on a coaxis with a center of an entrance pupil, said pair of catadioptric optical systems being arranged rotationally symmetric around a reference axis as a center and being coupled coaxially by the associated phase correction member of each, one of said pair of catadioptric optical systems being arranged on a side of an object to be projected, and the other catadioptric optical system being arranged on aside of a projection image, said object being placed on a focal plane which is formed by one of said pair of catadioptric optical systems and on which said object is to be projected; and a coherent illuminating light source for convergently illuminating the object to be projected such that the illumination rays from said light source are focused by said one catadioptric optical system to the center of a plane of the entrance pupil.

Claim 3

A projection optical system according to claim 1, wherein: one of said pair of catadioptric optical systems, located on the side of the object to be projected, is arranged in a manner such that after the rays emitted from an object point pass through the opening of the concave mirror member thereof, a first part of the rays pass through the opening of the convex mirror member thereof and a second remaining part of the rays are reflected by the convex mirror member thereof to the concave mirror member thereof and are further reflected by the concave mirror member thereof, and both of said first and second parts of the rays pass through the phase correction member thereof, and the other of said pair of catadioptric optical systems, located on the side of the projection image, is arranged in a manner such that after the incident rays passed through the phase correction member thereof, a first part of the rays pass through the opening of the convex mirror member thereof and the opening of the concave mirror member thereof and a second remaining part of the rays are reflected by the concave mirror member thereof to the convex mirror member thereof and are further reflected by the convex mirror member thereof to the phase correction member thereof and pass through the opening of the concave mirror member thereof, and all of the rays are overlapped in a plane which is perpendicular to the reference axis and behind the concave mirror member thereof, so that an image is formed.

Claim 4

A projection optical system according to claim 1, wherein said pair of catadioptric optical systems have respective phase correction members which are arranged with a slight distance between them.

Claim 5

A projection optical system according to claim 1, wherein said pair of catadioptric optical systems commonly share one phase correction member as their associated phase correction member.