Projection exposure method and projection exposure apparatus for microlithography

A method of operating an apparatus comprising an illumination system and a projection lens, the method comprising:

• using the illumination system to illuminate a region of a mask located in a region of an object plane of the projection lens;
• and
• using the projection lens to project a part of a pattern of the mask located in the illumination region onto an image field of the projection lens to generate an image of the part of the pattern of the mask in the image field, all rays of radiation which contribute to generating the image of the part of the pattern of the mask in the image field forming a light quiver in the projection lens,
• wherein the method comprises controlling operation of the apparatus by taking into account a parameter which describes a property of the light quiver.

A method, comprising:

• holding a mask between an illumination system and a projection lens of a projection exposure apparatus so that a pattern is arranged in the region of the object plane of the projection lens;
• holding a substrate so that a radiation-sensitive surface of the substrate is arranged in a region of an image plane of the projection lens, the image plane being optically conjugate with respect to the object plane;
• illuminating an illumination region of the mask with an illumination radiation provided by the illumination system;
• projecting a part of the pattern lying in the illumination region onto an image field at the substrate with the aid of the projection lens, wherein all rays of the projection radiation which contribute to image generation in the image field form a light quiver in the projection lens,
• wherein the method comprises determining at least one light quiver parameter which describes a property of the light quiver, and controlling operation of the projection exposure apparatus takes account of the light quiver parameter.

A projection exposure apparatus configured to expose a radiation sensitive substrate with at least one image of a pattern of a mask, the apparatus comprising:

• an illumination system configured to receive primary radiation of a primary radiation source and to generate an illumination radiation directed onto the mask in an illumination region;
• a substrate holding device configured to hold the substrate so that a radiation sensitive surface of the substrate is arranged in the region of the image plane of the projection lens, the image plane being optically conjugate with respect to the object plane;
• a light quiver detection system configured to determine a parameter which describes a property of the light quiver;
• and
• an operating control system configured to control the operation of the projection exposure apparatus taking account of the light quiver parameter.