EUV projection exposure system of microlithography and method for microlithographic exposure

The invention relates to a projection exposure apparatus for EUV microlithography comprising an illumination system (1) for illuminating a pattern and a projection objective (2) for imaging the pattern on a photosensitive substrate (5). The projection lens (2) has a pupil plane (30) having an obscuration. The illumination system (1) generates light with an angular distribution. The angular distribution has a Beleuchtungspol (35, 36) which extends over a range of polar angles and a range of azimuth angles and within which the light intensity is greater than a Beleuchtungspol-minimum value. From the Beleuchtungspol (35, 36) is too large polar angles toward a dark zone (41, 42) except within which the light intensity is smaller than the Beleuchtungspol-minimum value, and the regions, has a shape which (the shape of the obscuration of the pupil plane 30 ) corresponds.