Patent ID: 8705005

Claim:
A system configured to illuminate an illumination field with light, the system comprising: a first raster array comprising first raster elements arranged in first raster lines and first raster columns, the first raster array being in or adjacent to a first plane, wherein the first array is configured to receive light and to generate a raster array of secondary light sources of the light in a pupil plane of the system; transmission optics configured to guide channels of light of the secondary light sources into the illumination field; a device spatially adjacent to the first raster array or in a plane which is optically conjugate with a plane in which the first raster array is disposed, wherein during use of the system, the device influences at least one property of the light so that: a first channel of light of the secondary light sources illuminates the illumination field with a first intensity distribution of light; a second channel of the secondary light sources illuminates the illumination field with a second intensity distribution of light; the first channel is different from the second channel; the first intensity distribution is different from the second intensity distribution; and the at least one property of light is selected from the group consisting of the intensity of the light, the phase of the light, and the beam direction of the light; and wherein the system is a microlithographic illumination system.