Patent ID: 8115904

Claim:
A focal spot patterning system comprising an illuminator that collects light from a light source and illuminates addressable elements of a pattern generator, an imager that images the addressable elements of the pattern generator onto corresponding focusing elements that form focused spots in a pattern controlled by the pattern generator, an aperture stop of the illuminator being conjugate to both an aperture stop of the imager and the focused spots, the imager having a numerical aperture exceeding a numerical aperture of the illuminator so that a pattern of light within the aperture stop of the illuminator images within the aperture stop of the imager at a size less than the aperture stop of the imager for underfilling the imager aperture stop, and optics within the illuminator that direct light from the light source through the illuminator aperture stop in a form that effectively underfills the illuminator aperture stop.