Lithographic method for producing an exposure pattern on a substrate

A lithographic method for producing an exposure pattern on a substrate comprising a layer of resist material sensitive to exposure to an energetic radiation, the method comprising:

• in a pattern transfer system, irradiating the substrate with a pattern image at an initial shift position for a predetermined time by illuminating a mask having a structure pattern formed from a set of transparent structures, the illuminating thereby forming a structure beam for imaging the structure pattern onto the substrate so as to produce a pattern image via a spatial distribution of irradiation on the substrate, the spatial distribution having a finite pattern transfer blur determined by the pattern transfer system;
• shifting the pattern image on the substrate by a lateral displacement to a second shift position different from the initial shift position;
• irradiating the substrate with the pattern image at the second shift position for a predetermined time;
• and
• repeating the shifting of the pattern image and the irradiating of the substrate for at least a third shift position different from the initial shift position and the second shift position,
• wherein the irradiating at the respective shift positions produces superposing exposures on the substrate so as to form a spatial distribution of exposure dose on the substrate, the spatial distribution exceeding a minimum exposure dose of the resist material within at least one region of the substrate, the at least one region forming the exposure pattern on the substrate, and
• wherein the width of each lateral displacement is not greater than the pattern transfer blur.