Method and apparatus for setting optical imaging properties by means of radiation treatment

Abstract

Method and apparatus for setting optical imaging properties using radiation treatment, specifically a method and an apparatus for setting the imaging properties of an optical system with radiation treatment of at least one optical element of the optical system in the installed state, and a method for setting the imaging properties of an internal optical element with radiation treatment. A measurement is carried out on the optical system in order to determine one or more aberrations in a spatially resolved fashion, a correction that changes the shape and/or refractive index of the internal optical element is calculated in order to reduce the measured aberration or aberrations, and the optical element is irradiated with the aid of a processing radiation that changes the shape and/or refractive index, in accordance with the calculated correction. In addition, a radiation treatment of an optical element for setting its imaging properties uses a compacting processing radiation with the aid of which the optical element is irradiated in a controlled fashion in such a way that its imaging properties are influenced in a controlled fashion via spatially resolved material shrinkage and/or increase of the refractive index. The method and apparatus are suited, for example, for producing correction aspherics in microlithography projection objectives in the installed state.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.