Projection-microlithographic device

A projection-microlithographic apparatus comprising:

• an illuminating device which itself comprises:
• a light source;
• a device which produces an image field configuration in a reticle plane;
• being designed such that an image field configuration is produced by a transformation of an initial rectangle having a long side and a short side with an aspect ratio greater than 1:5, said transformation being such as to keep the area and, in the direction of the long side of the rectangle, the total dimension constant;
• said generated image field configuration having at least two closed curves as periphery;
• a reticle holder which is designed to accommodate a reticle in the reticle plane and is movable in a scanning direction;
• a projection objective imaging a pattern of the reticle located in the reticle plane onto a wafer plane;
• wherein
• the device which produces the image field configuration is designed such that both the corners of the initial rectangle from which the image field configuration is generated and at least the outer corners of the image field configuration generated from this initial rectangle are located on a circular boundary line of a circular corrected image field of the projection objective, and that, otherwise, the image field configuration produced is located within the circular corrected image field.