Patent ID: 7283209

Claim:
An illumination system for a microlithography projection exposure apparatus for illuminating an illumination field with the light from an assigned light source comprising: a pupil shaping unit comprising a plurality of optical elements which are configured to receive light from the assigned light source and to generate a predetermined multi-polar basic light distribution in a pupil plane of the illumination system; and a transmission filter comprising at least one array of individually drivable individual elements configured to perform a transmission filtering of light impinging on the transmission filter from the pupil shaping unit in a spatially resolving manner determined by the setting of the individual drivable individual elements; wherein the transmission filter is arranged in or in proximity to the pupil plane of the illumination system, or in a plane that is optically conjugate to the pupil plane of the illumination system; and the transmission filter is designed for generating a predetermined correction of the multi-polar basic light distribution.