A field facet for a field facet mirror of a projection exposure apparatus has a reflection surface spanned by two field facet coordinates. An actuator device having at least two independently controllable actuator units serves to deform the reflection surface in at least two independent deformation degrees of freedom. A first of the deformation degrees of freedom brings about a change in a curvature of the reflection surface along a primary curvature coordinate which coincides with one of the field facet coordinates. A second of the deformation degrees of freedom brings about a change in a torsion of the reflection surface about the primary curvature coordinate. This can yield a field facet, the imaging performance of which is optimized, for example adapted to different illumination channel assignments within the projection exposure apparatus.

A projection system (PS1) for a lithographic apparatus comprises: an optical path (100); a plurality of sensors (S1-S4); one or more actuators (A1-A4); and a controller (CN). The optical path is operable to receive an input radiation beam (Bin) and to project an output radiation beam (Bout) onto a substrate to form an image. The optical path comprises: a plurality of optical elements (M1-M4), the plurality of optical elements comprising: a first set of at least two optical elements (M1, M4) and a second set of at least one optical element (M2, M3). Each sensor is associated with one of the plurality of optical elements and is operable to determine a position of that optical element. Each actuator is associated with one of the second set of optical elements and is operable to adjust that optical element. The controller is operable to use the one or more actuators to adjust the second set of optical elements in dependence on the determined position of the first set of optical elements so as to at least partially compensate for optical aberrations and/or line-of-sight errors caused by the positions of the first set of optical elements.

An optical filter device (1000) includes: a first mirror (101) transmitting portion of incident light; a second mirror (201) spaced apart from the first mirror (101), and transmitting portion of the incident light; actuators (300) driving the first mirror (101) to change a space between the first mirror (101) and the second mirror (201); and a detection electrode (400) detecting displacement of the first mirror (101). The detection electrode (400) includes: a movable comb electrode (410) including movable combs (414) and connected to the first mirror (101); and a stationary comb electrode (420) including stationary combs (424) facing the movable combs (414) in parallel with each other. The movable combs (414) are displaced in parallel with the stationary combs (424) when the movable comb electrode (410) is displaced together with the first mirror (101).

An optical element comprises a substrate and an optical surface formed on the substrate. At least one fluid-tight sealed chamber is embedded in the substrate and has a rheological fluid introduced therein for deforming the optical surface. An optical arrangement, such as an EUV lithography system, comprises at least one optical element as described above and a field generating device for generating an electromagnetic field. The electromagnetic field can be a time-varying electromagnetic field. The electromagnetic field can be a magnetic field. The electromagnetic field passes through the at least one chamber which contains the rheological fluid. A method for producing an optical element designed as described above is also provided.

Aberrations of a projection lens for microlithography can be subdivided into two classes: a first class of aberrations, which are distinguished by virtue of the fact that their future size increases by a non-negligible value after a constant time duration, independently of their current size, and a second class of aberrations, which, after reaching a threshold, only increase by a negligible value after each further time duration. An adjustment method is proposed, which adjusts these two classes of aberrations in parallel in time with one another.

An optical assembly for semiconductor lithography comprises an optical element and an actuator for deforming the optical element. The actuator is constructed from at least three sections, which include at least first and second group of sections that are controllable in each case via a controller are present. The first group serves for coarse actuation, and the second group serves for fine actuation. The controller is configured to control the groups independently of one another and the sections of a group jointly. The controller is furthermore configured to variably set the number of sections controlled jointly per group. Furthermore, the disclosure relates to a projection exposure apparatus equipped with the assembly, and to a method for controlling the optical assembly.

A projection exposure apparatus includes a projection lens, a wavefront manipulator and a wavefront measuring device for measuring a wavefront in the projection lens. The wavefront measuring device includes a Moiré grating arrangement having an object grating and an image grating which are designed to be arranged in an object plane and an image plane, respectively, of the projection lens. The object grating and the image grating are coordinated with one another in a manner true to scale in such a way as to generate a Moiré superimposition pattern from an imaging of the object grating onto the image plane and the image grating. The Moiré grating arrangement is designed in such a way as to simultaneously generate the Moiré superimposition pattern for a plurality of field points of an object field in the object plane and/or of an image field in the image plane.

A method for improving imaging properties of an optical system and an optical system of this type having improved imaging properties are described. The optical system can have a plurality of optical elements. In some embodiments, an optical element is positioned and/or deformed by mechanical force action and by thermal action. In certain embodiments, one optical element is positioned and/or deformed by mechanical force action and another optical element is deformed by thermal action.

A method for producing an optical element includes: providing a substrate (102), applying a layer system (103), wherein an optically effective surface (101) is formed and wherein the layer system has a layer (104) that is thermally deformable for manipulating the geometric shape of the optically effective surface, and applying a temperature field to the optical element while at least regionally heating the thermally deformable layer to above a specified operating temperature of the optical system. The thermally deformable layer is configured such that a deformation that is induced when the temperature field is applied is at least partially maintained after the optical element has cooled. Also disclosed is an optical element (400) that has an optically effective surface (401), a substrate (402), and a layer system (403) that has a reflection layer system (406), which includes a shape-memory alloy.

The disclosure provides a method that includes filling a cavity in a substrate with a second material, wherein the substrate includes a first material. The method also includes using galvanic and/or chemical deposition of a third material to apply an overcoating to a first surface of the substrate in a region of the cavity. The method further includes removing the second material from the cavity. In addition, the method includes, before or after removing the second material from the cavity, applying a reflective layer to the overcoating. The disclosure also provides related optical articles and systems.