The disclosure relates to an optical device, in particular for microlithography. The optical device includes an optical module and a support structure that supports the optical module. The optical module includes an optical element and a holding device that holds the optical element. The holding device includes a deformation device having a plurality of active deformation units which contact the optical element and which are designed so as to impose a pre-defined deformation on the optical element. The optical module is fixed to the support structure in a replaceable manner.

The disclosure provides an arrangement for the thermal actuation of a mirror, in particular in a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus, as well as related methods and systems.

The disclosure provides a control device for controlling at least one manipulator of a microlithographic projection lens by generating a travel command, which defines a change to be undertaken, of an optical effect of at least one optical element of the projection lens by manipulating a property of the optical element via the at least one manipulator along a travel. The control device is configured to generate the travel command for the at least one manipulator from a state characterization of the projection lens by optimizing a merit function. Here, the merit function includes a linear combination of at least two exponential expressions, a setting of the at least one manipulator defining the manipulation of the property of the optical element is represented via a travel variable and the respective base of the at least two exponential expressions contains a function of the travel variable.

A mirror, in particular for a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus has an optically effective surface (11), a mirror substrate (12), a reflection layer stack (21) for reflecting electromagnetic radiation that is incident on the optical effective surface, and at least two piezoelectric layers (16a, 16b, 16c), which are arranged successively between the mirror substrate and the reflection layer stack in the stack direction of the reflection layer stack and to which an electric field can be applied to produce a locally variable deformation, wherein at least one intermediate layer (22a, 22b) made of crystalline material is arranged between the piezoelectric layers (16a, 16b, 16c), wherein the intermediate layer is designed to leave an electric field, which is present in the region of the piezoelectric layers (16a, 16b, 16c) that adjoin the intermediate layer (22a, 22b) in the stack direction of the reflection layer stack (21), substantially uninfluenced.

Methods for calibrating a photolithographic system are disclosed. A cold lens contour for a reticle design and at least one hot lens contour for the reticle design are generated from which a process window is defined. Aberrations induced by a lens manipulator are characterized in a manipulator model and the process window is optimized using the manipulator model. Aberrations are characterized by identifying variations in critical dimensions caused by lens manipulation for a plurality of manipulator settings and by modeling behavior of the manipulator as a relationship between manipulator settings and aberrations. The process window may be optimized by minimizing a cost function for a set of critical locations.

A microlithography projection exposure apparatus includes a projection lens at least one manipulator to change an optical effect of at least one optical element of the projection lens, and a travel establishing device for generating a travel command for the at least one manipulator.

A system comprises a reflective optical element with a reflective surface that is configured to reflect a radiation beam. The reflective optical element also has a body. The system includes a thermal conditioning mechanism operative to thermally induce a deformation of the body under control of a controller. By means of controllably deforming the body, the shape of the reflective surface can be adjusted in a controlled manner.

A microlithographic apparatus includes an objective that includes a transmission filter that is configured to variably modify a light irradiance distribution in a projection light path. The transmission filter includes a plurality of gas outlet apertures that are configured to emit gas flows that pass through a space through which projection light propagates during operation of the microlithographic apparatus. The transmission filter further includes a control unit which is configured to vary a number density of ozone molecules in the gas flows individually for each gas flow. In this manner it is possible to finally adjust the transmittance distribution of the transmission filter.

An adjustment apparatus which is an optical system having an incident face and a light exit face that is parallel to the incident face. The optical system is disposed in an exposure device. The adjustment apparatus includes at least one wedge lens and a plurality of optical lenses configured such that at least one of focal plane adjustment, magnification adjustment and position adjustment for a field of view corresponding to the exposure device is made possible through changing relative positions of at least one pair of neighboring ones of the lenses. An adjustment method corresponding to the adjustment apparatus is also provided for the focal plane adjustment, magnification adjustment and position adjustment for the field of view corresponding to the exposure device.

A method for controlling a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus includes: determining a wavefront error of the projection exposure apparatus; generating a travel vector, suitable for correcting the wavefront error, with travels for each zone of the optical manipulator; establishing a constraint parameter with respect to the travel for at least one zone of the optical manipulator; and checking the travels of the generated travel vector with respect to implementability.