Abstract: A microlithographic projection exposure apparatus comprises a projection objective which images an object onto an image plane and has a lens with a curved surface. In the projection objective there is a liquid or solid medium which directly adjoins the curved surface over a region which is usable for imaging the object. The projection exposure apparatus also has an adjustable manipulator for reducing an image field curvature which is caused by heating of the medium during the projection operation.

Abstract: In a projection objective for imaging a pattern arranged in the object plane of the projection objective into the image plane of the projection objective, at least one optical component is provided which has a substrate in which at least one substrate surface is covered with an interference layer system having a great spatial modulation of the reflectance and/or of the transmittance over a usable cross section of the optical component, the modulation being adapted to a spatial transmission distribution of the remaining components of the projection objective in such a way that an intensity distribution of the radiation that is measured in a pupil surface has a substantially reduced spatial modulation in comparison with a projection objective without the interference layer system.

Abstract: A reduction projection objective for projection lithography has a plurality of optical elements configured to image an effective object field arranged in an object surface of the projection objective into an effective image field arranged in an image surface of the projection objective at a reducing magnification ratio |?|<1. The optical elements form a dry objective adapted with regard to aberrations to a gaseous medium with refractive index n?<1.01 filling an image space of finite thickness between an exit surface of the projection objective and the image surface. The optical elements include a largest lens having a maximum lens diameter Dmax and are configured to provide an image-side numerical aperture NA<1 in an effective image field having a maximum image field height Y?. With COMP=Dmax/(Y?·(NA/n?)2) the condition COMP<15.8 holds.

Abstract: An illumination system for a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus comprises a masking device and a masking objective which projects the masking device onto an image plane. The illumination system further includes an optical correction element having a surface that is either aspherically shaped or supports diffractive structures that have at least substantially the effect of an aspherical surface. This surface is arranged at least approximately in a field plane which precedes the image plane of the masking objective The aspherically acting surface is designed such that a principal ray distribution generated by the illumination system in the image plane matches a principal ray distribution required by a projection objective.

Abstract: An optical imaging system for inspection microscopes with which lithography masks can be checked for defects particularly through emulation of high-aperture scanner systems. The microscope imaging system for emulating high-aperture imaging systems comprises imaging optics, a detector and an evaluating unit, wherein polarizing optical elements are selectively arranged in the illumination beam path for generating different polarization states of the illumination beam and/or in the imaging beam path for selecting different polarization components of the imaging beam, an optical element with a polarization-dependent intensity attenuation function can be introduced into the imaging beam path, images of the mask and/or sample are received by the detector for differently polarized beam components and are conveyed to the evaluating unit for further processing.

Abstract: In a method of manufacturing projection objectives including defining an initial design for a projection objective and optimizing the design using a merit function, a set of related projection objectives including a first projection objective and at least one second projection objective is defined. Further, a plurality of merit function components, each of which reflects a particular quality parameter, is defined. One of these merit function components defines a common module requirement requiring that the first projection objective and the second projection objective each include at least one common optical module that is constructed to be substantially identical for the first and the second projection objective. The method results in a set of projection objectives having at least one common optical module. Employing the method in the manufacturing of complex projection objectives, such as projection objectives for microlithography, facilitates the manufacturing process and allows substantial cost savings.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to an optical imaging system for inspection microscopes with which lithography masks can be checked for defects particularly through emulation of high-aperture scanner systems. The microscope imaging system for emulating high-aperture imaging systems comprises imaging optics, a detector and an evaluating unit, wherein polarizing optical elements are selectively arranged in the illumination beam path for generating different polarization states of the illumination beam and/or in the imaging beam path for selecting different polarization components of the imaging beam, an optical element with a polarization-dependent intensity attenuation function can be introduced into the imaging beam path, images of the mask and/or sample are received by the detector for differently polarized beam components and are conveyed to the evaluating unit for further processing.