Optical unit, illumination optical apparatus, exposure apparatus, and device manufacturing method

摘要

An illumination optical apparatus has an optical unit. The optical unit has a light splitter to split an incident beam into two beams; a first spatial light modulator which can be arranged in an optical path of a first beam; a second spatial light modulator which can be arranged in an optical path of a second beam; and a light combiner which combines a beam having passed via the first spatial light modulator, with a beam having passed via the second spatial light modulator; each of the first spatial light modulator and the second spatial light modulator has a plurality of optical elements arranged two-dimensionally and controlled individually.

主权项

1. An illumination optical apparatus which illuminates an object having a pattern with illumination light, the apparatus comprising:
an optical integrator arranged in an optical path of the illumination light; a spatial light modulator comprising a plurality of reflection surfaces which are arranged along a predetermined surface and disposed in the optical path on an incidence side of the optical integrator so as to reflect the illumination light, an orientation of each of the plurality of reflection surfaces being controllable individually so that at least part of the illumination light from the spatial light modulator passes through an area on a illumination pupil of the illumination optical apparatus via the optical integrator, the area being away from an optical axis of the illumination optical apparatus; an optical element arranged in the optical path on an incidence side of the spatial light modulator, which improves an evenness of a light intensity distribution of the illumination light on the plurality of reflection surfaces; and a polarization element arranged in the optical path between the optical element and the optical integrator, which changes a polarization state of the illumination light, wherein the spatial light modulator sets orientations of the plurality of reflection surfaces so that a first part of the illumination light passes through a first area of the area and a second part of the illumination light passes through a second area of the area, the first area being different from the second area, the first part of the illumination light being incident on a first part of the plurality of reflection surfaces, the second part of the illumination light being incident on a second part of the plurality of reflection surfaces, and wherein the polarization element changes the polarization state of the illumination light so that the first part of the illumination light is substantially linearly polarized light having a first polarization direction in the first area and the second part of the illumination light is substantially linearly polarized light having a second polarization direction in the second area, the second polarization direction being different from the first polarization direction.