Patent Number: 
Section: claims

1. An attenuator, comprising:a grating element having i) grating grooves that produce a grating period (p), and ii) a grating plane,wherein said grating period (p) is at least about 150 times greater than said used wavelength,wherein said grating element attenuates electromagnetic radiation of wavelengths unequal to said used wavelength,wherein said grating element is a binary grating and said grating grooves have a first height (H1) and a second height (H2) in a direction perpendicular to said binary grating,wherein said first height (H1) and said second height (H2) have a difference between them that defines a grating depth h,wherein said grating depth h is defined by the following equation:                    λ        min                    4        ⁢                                  ⁢        cos        ⁢                                  ⁢        α              <    h    <                  (                  n          +                      1            2                          )            ⁢                        λ          max                          2          ⁢                                          ⁢          cos          ⁢                                          ⁢          α                      ,          ⁢  andwherein λmin is a shortest wavelength of wavelengths to be attenuated by said attenuator, λmax is a longest wavelength of said wavelengths to be attenuated by said attenuator, α is an incidence angle of a ray relative to a normal line of a surface of said grating element, and n is an integer number ≧0. 2. An illumination system for wavelengths <100 nn, comprising:a first attenuator having:a grating element having i) grating grooves that produce a grating period (p), and ii) a grating plane,wherein said grating period (p) is at least about 150 times greater than said used wavelength, andwherein said grating element attenuates electromagnetic radiation of wavelengths unequal to said used wavelengtha second attenuator situated downstream from said first attenuator;a diaphragm in a diaphragm plane,wherein said diaphragm is situated downstream from said first attenuator in a path of rays from an object plane to a field plane, andwherein said diaphragm includes an opening at a location of a 0th diffraction order of said at least one grating element; anda light source from which rays of a beam bundle pass through to said field plane,wherein said rays impinge upon said first attenuator at an angle >70° to a normal line of a surface of said first attenuator, andwherein said rays impinge upon said second attenuator at an angle <20° to a normal line of a surface of said second attenuator. 3. An illumination system comprising:an object plane;an image plane;a light source emitting radiation of a used wavelength ≦100 nm and long-wavelength radiation of a wavelength >100 nm, the radiation propagating in a path of rays from the object to the image plane;at least one attenuator with at least one grating element having grating grooves with a grating depth h;at least one physical diaphragm in a diaphragm plane, which is situated downstream to the attenuator in the path of rays from the object plane to the image plane;the physical diaphragm comprising an opening at a location of a 0th diffraction order of the at least one grating element;wherein the at least one grating element is arranged in the path of rays from the object plane to the image plane such that the 0th diffraction order is passed through the diaphragm and long-wavelength radiation is diffracted at least partially to orders other than the 0th order;wherein said grating depth h is chosen to diffract the long-wavelength radiation with an optimal efficiency into orders other than the 0th diffraction order; andwherein the opening has a size and is chosen in such a way that the long-wavelength radiation of a wavelength larger than 10 times the used wavelength, which is diffracted at least partially by the at least one grating element of the attenuator into orders other than the 0th order is blocked substantially completely by the diaphragm. 4. The illumination system of claim 3, wherein the diffraction into diffraction orders other than the 0th order of the long wavelength radiation is wavelength dependent. 5. The illumination system of claim 4, wherein the diffraction of the long wavelength radiation in orders other than the 0th order is characterized by a wavelength region and a mean diffraction efficiency calculated by averaging the diffraction efficiencies over the wavelength region. 6. The illumination system of claim 5, wherein the wavelength region is from 130 nm to 330 nm and the mean diffraction efficiency is in a range between 13% and 34%. 7. The illumination system of claim 5, wherein the wavelength region is from 130 nm to 600 nm and the mean diffraction efficiency is in a range between 8% and 29%. 8. The illumination system of claim 3, wherein the size of the opening of the physical diaphragm is chosen in such a way that also the radiation of the used wavelength which is diffracted by the at least one grating element of the attenuator into orders other than the 0th diffraction passes through the diaphragm. 9. The illumination system of claim 3,wherein the grating grooves produce at least one grating periodicity (p) and a grating plane, andwherein the at least one grating periodicity (p) is at least 150 times greater than the used wavelength. 10. The illumination system of claim 3, wherein the grating element is a binary grating and the grating grooves have a different height in a direction perpendicular to the grating, with the grating grooves having a first height and a second height. 11. The illumination system of claim 10, wherein the difference between the first and second height defines the grating depth h and the grating depth is            λ      min              4      ⁢      cos      ⁢                          ⁢      α        <  h  <            (              n        +                  1          2                    )        ⁢                  λ        max                    2        ⁢        cos        ⁢                                  ⁢        α            withh being the grating depth,λmin being the shortest of the wavelengths to be attenuated by the attenuator,λmax being the longest of the wavelengths to be attenuated by the attenuator,α being the incidence angle of a ray relative to the normal line of the surface, andn being an integer number ≧0. 12. The illumination system of claim 3, wherein the rays of a beam bundle impinge on the grating element at an angle <30° relative to a normal line of a surface which stands perpendicular to a grating plane. 13. The illumination system of claim 3, wherein the rays impinge on the grating element at an angle >70° relative to a normal line of a surface which stands perpendicular to a grating plane of the grating element. 14. The illumination system of claim 13, wherein the rays and the normal line of the surface define an incidence plane and a grating vector stands perpendicular to the incidence plane of the grating element, so that the grating grooves of the grating plane extend in a direction parallel to the direction of the rays impinging onto the grating element. 15. The illumination system of claim 3, wherein the grating element comprises a plurality of individual grating elements. 16. The illumination system of claim 15, wherein the individual grating elements comprise grating grooves of different grating depths. 17. The illumination system of claim 15, wherein said attenuator is a first attenuator, and said illumination system further comprises a second attenuator in said path, downstream of said first attenuator. 18. The illumination system of claim 17, wherein the rays of a beam bundle which propagate through the illumination system from the light source to the field plane impinge under an angle >70° to a normal line of the surface of the first attenuator, and the rays of a beam bundle which passes through the illumination system from the light source to the field plane impinge under an angle <20° to the normal line of the surface of at least one grating element of the second attenuator upon the second attenuator. 19. The illumination system as claimed in claim 3, further comprising a collector, wherein the attenuator is the first optical element in the path of rays from the light source to the field plane which is situated downstream the light source and the collector. 20. The illumination system of claim 3, further comprising a mixing unit with a first optical element with first facets, and a second optical element with second facets, wherein at least one of the two facets is arranged as an attenuator. 21. The illumination system of claim 20, further comprising further diaphragms downstream of the attenuator in the path of the rays from the light source to the field plane, wherein said further diaphragms include an opening at the location of the 0th diffraction order of the at least one grating element of the attenuator. 22. A projection exposure system for producing microelectronic components, comprising:the illumination system of claim 3;a structure-bearing mask;a projection lens; anda light-sensitive object, wherein the structure-bearing mask is projected onto the light-sensitive object. 23. A method comprising: employing a projection exposure system to produce a microelectronic component, wherein said projection exposure system includes:(A) an illumination system having:an object plane;an image plane;a light source emitting radiation of a used wavelength 100 nm and long-wavelength radiation of a wavelength >100 nm, the radiation propagating in a path of rays from the object to the image plane;at least one attenuator with at least one grating element having grating grooves with a grating depth h;at least one physical diaphragm in a diaphragm plane, which is situated downstream to the attenuator in the path of rays from the object plane to the image plane;the physical diaphragm comprising an opening at a location of a 0thdiffraction order of the at least one grating element;wherein the at least one grating element is arranged in the path of rays from the object plane to the image plane such that the 0th diffraction order is passed through the diaphragm and long-wavelength radiation is diffracted at least partially to orders other than the 0thorderwherein said grating depth h is chosen to diffract the long-wavelength radiation with an optimal efficiency into orders other than the 0thdiffraction order; andwherein the opening has a size and is chosen in such a way that the long-wavelength radiation of a wavelength larger than 10 times the used wavelength, which is diffracted at least partially by the at least one grating element of the attenuator into orders other than the 0th order is blocked substantially completely by the diaphragm;(B) a structure-bearing mask;(C) a projection lens; and(D) a light-sensitive object, wherein the structure-bearing mask is projected onto the light-sensitive object.