Illumination optical system, exposure apparatus, and device manufacturing method

An illumination optical system for illuminating an illumination target surface with light from a light source, comprising:

• an optical integrator which distributes the light from the light source on an illumination pupil plane in an illumination optical path of the illumination optical system;
• a transmission section which is arranged on the illumination pupil plane, the transmission section having a transmittance characteristic varying according to positions of the light incident thereinto;
• and
• a movement mechanism which moves the transmission section along an optical-axis direction of the illumination optical system.

An illumination optical system for illuminating an illumination target surface with light from a light source, comprising:

• an optical integrator which distributes the light from the light source on an illumination pupil plane in an illumination optical path of the illumination optical system;
• a transmission section which is arranged on the illumination pupil plane, the transmission section having a transmittance characteristic varying according to positions of the light incident thereinto;
• and
• a movement mechanism which moves the transmission section along an optical-axis direction of the illumination optical system,
• wherein the transmission section comprises a plurality of transmission parts arranged along the optical-axis direction.

An illumination method for illuminating an illumination target surface with light from a light source, comprising:

• distributing the light from the light source on an illumination pupil plane in an illumination optical path of the illumination optical system, by using an optical integrator;
• arranging a transmission section on the illumination pupil plane, the transmission section having a transmittance characteristic varying according to positions of the light incident thereinto;
• and
• moving the transmission section along an optical-axis direction of the illumination optical system in said illumination pupil plane,
• wherein the transmission section comprises a first transmission part arranged in an optical path of a first illumination beam passing through a first region in the illumination pupil plane, and a second transmission part arranged in an optical path of a second illumination beam passing through a second region in the illumination pupil plane, the second region being different from the first region.

An illumination method for illuminating an illumination target surface with light from a light source, comprising:

• distributing the light from the light source on an illumination pupil plane in an illumination optical path of the illumination optical system, by using an optical integrator;
• arranging a transmission section on the illumination pupil plane, the transmission section having a transmittance characteristic varying according to positions of the light incident thereinto;
• and
• moving the transmission section along an optical-axis direction of the illumination optical system.

An illumination method for illuminating an illumination target surface with light from a light source, comprising:

• distributing the light from the light source on an illumination pupil plane in an illumination optical path of the illumination optical system, by using an optical integrator;
• arranging a transmission section on the illumination pupil plane side with respect to the optical integrator, the transmission section having a transmittance characteristic varying according to positions of the light incident thereinto;
• and
• moving the transmission section along an optical-axis direction of the illumination optical system,
• wherein the transmission section comprises a plurality of transmission parts arranged along the optical-axis direction.