Techniques are disclosed for magnification compensation and/or beam steering in optical systems. An optical system may include a lens system to receive first radiation associated with an object and direct second radiation associated with an image of the object toward an image plane. The lens system may include a set of lenses, and an actuator system to selectively adjust the set of lenses to adjust a magnification associated with the image symmetrically along a first and a second direction. The lens system may also include a beam steering lens to direct the first radiation to provide the second radiation. In some examples, the lens system may also include a second set of lenses, where the actuator system may also selectively adjust the second set of lenses to adjust the magnification along the first or the second direction. Related methods are also disclosed.

A projection optical system for an immersion exposure apparatus which exposes a substrate with an illumination light through the projection optical system and a liquid, the projection optical system includes: a plurality of reflective and refractive optical elements through which the illumination light passes, the plurality of reflective and refractive optical elements having a final lens, through which the illumination light passes, the final lens having a light emitting surface through a part of which the illumination light passes, the part of the light emitting surface being in contact with the liquid, wherein the image is projected in a projection region, a center of the projection region is away from an optical axis of the projection optical system with respect to a first direction perpendicular to the optical axis, and a center of the light emitting surface is away from the optical axis with respect to the first direction.

In an embodiment, a lithographic projection apparatus has an off-axis image field and a concave refractive lens as the final element of the projection system. The concave lens can be cut-away in parts not used optically to prevent bubbles from being trapped under the lens.

Projection optical system for forming an image on a substrate and including an illumination relay lens and a projection lens each of which is a catadioptric system. The projection lens may include two portions in optical communication with one another, the first of which is dioptric and the second of which is catadioptric. In a specific case, the projection optical system satisfies $4<\frac{.Math.{}_I.Math.}{.Math.{}_T.Math.}<30,$
where .sub.I and .sub.T are magnifications of the first portion and the overall projection lens. Optionally, the projection lens may be structured to additionally satisfy $6<\frac{.Math.{}_{\mathrm{II}}.Math.}{.Math.{}_T.Math.}<20,$
where .sub.II is a magnification of the second portion. A digital scanner including such projection optical system and operating with UV light having a spectral bandwidth on the order of 1 picometer. Method for forming an image with such projection optical system.

An optical arrangement includes an optical element (1) and a thermal manipulation device. The optical element has a substrate (2), a coating (3, 9, 5) applied to the substrate (2), and an antireflection coating (3). The coating (3, 9, 5) includes: a reflective multi-layer coating (5b) configured to reflect radiation (4) with a used wavelength (.sub.EUV). The antireflection coating (3) is arranged between the substrate (2) and the reflective multi-layer coating (5b) to suppress reflection of heating radiation (7) with a heating wavelength (.sub.H) that differs from the used wavelength (.sub.EUV). The thermal manipulation device has at least one heating light source (8) to produce heating radiation (7).

A catadioptric projection lens images a pattern of a mask in an effective object field of the projection lens into an effective image field of the projection lens with electromagnetic radiation with an operating wavelength <260 nm. The projection lens includes a multiplicity of lens elements and a multiplicity of mirrors including at least one concave mirror. The lens elements and mirrors define a projection beam path that extends from the object plane to the image plane and contains at least one pupil plane. The mirrors include a first mirror having a first mirror surface in the projection beam path between the object and pupil planes in the optical vicinity of a first field plane optically conjugate to the object plane. The mirrors also include a second mirror having a second mirror surface in the projection beam path between the pupil and image planes in the optical vicinity of a second field plane that is optically conjugate to the first field plane. The first mirror surface and/or the second mirror surface is a freeform surface.

An appliance for moir measurement of an object (12) includes a grating arrangement having a first grating (11) positioned upstream of the object and including test structures to be imaged, a second grating (14) positioned downstream of the object, and an evaluation unit having at least one detector evaluating moir structures produced by superposing the two gratings in a detection plane situated downstream of the second grating. The object is an anamorphic imaging system, and the respective grating periods of the first grating and of the second grating are selected so that the grating period of the second grating corresponds to a common multiple or a common divisor of the respective periods of two test structure images of the test structures of the first grating produced by the imaging system in two different measurement positions. The two measurement positions differ in relative grating arrangement position and test object position.

Microlithography projection objectives for imaging into an image plane a pattern arranged in an object plane are described with respect to suppressing false light in such projection objectives.

A mirror for EUV radiation includes a mirror body, which has at least one EUV radiation-reflecting region and at least two EUV radiation-permeable regions. A spatial separation of the illumination and imaging beam paths is possible with small angles of incidence and a large object-side numerical aperture.

A catadioptric projection objective for images an object field onto an image field via imaging radiation. The projection objective includes at least one reflective optical component and a measuring device. The reflective optical component, during the operation of the projection objective, reflects a first part of the imaging radiation and transmits a second part of the imaging radiation. The reflected, first part of the imaging radiation at least partly contributes to the imaging of the object field. The transmitted, second part of the imaging radiation is at least partly fed to a measuring device. This allows a simultaneous exposure of the photosensitive layer at the location of the image field with the imaging radiation and monitoring of the imaging radiation with the aid of the measuring device.