Patent ID: 6930758

Claim:
A method for microlithography generating an image with polarized light using a projection exposure system for microlithography including: a light source for supplying light along an optical axis; an illumination arrangement defining an illumination aperture and being disposed on said optical axis downstream of said light source; said illumination arrangement including: a first component for influencing the polarization of said light by generating more than 60% of tangential polarization of said light; and, a second component for determining said illumination aperture; a mask positioning device on said optical axis downstream of said illumination arrangement; a projection objective defining an image plane and being arranged on said optical axis downstream of said illumination arrangement, the projection objective having an image side numerical aperture of approximately 0.7 or greater; and, an object positioning device disposed on said optical axis downstream of said projection objective; the method comprising the steps of: utilizing said light source and said illumination arrangement to provide light beams which incident in said image plane and interfere to form an image in said image plane; and, polarizing said light beams to have a preferred direction of said polarization orientated perpendicular to the incidence plane.