Optical component that includes a material having a thermal longitudinal expansion with a zero crossing

1. An optical component, comprising:

a material having a surface that, when subjected to radiation, heats to a maximum temperature (T max ) and has a temperature variation (δT) thereon,

wherein said material has a temperature-dependent coefficient of thermal expansion (α(T)) of about zero at a temperature T 0 , and

wherein T max −0.5·δT≦T 0 ≦T max +0.5·δT.

2. The optical component of claim 1 , wherein α(T) has an approximately linear temperature dependence α(T)=m(T−T 0 ) in a temperature region close to T 0 , where m is a gradient of α(T).

3. The optical component of claim 2 , where |m|<1·10 −6 K −2 .

4. The optical component of claim 1 , wherein said material is selected from the group consisting of glass ceramic and Ti-doped quartz glass.

5. The optical component of claim 1 , wherein said material comprises a substrate material.

6. The optical component of claim 5 , further comprising a coating applied to said substrate material.

7. The optical component of claim 5 , wherein said substrate material is selected from the group consisting of glass ceramic and Ti-doped quartz glass.

8. The optical component of claim 5 , wherein the optical component is a mirror comprising a coating applied to said substrate material.

9. The optical component of claim 8 , wherein said coating comprises a material selected from the group consisting of ruthenium, palladium and rhodium layer.

10. The optical component of claim 8 , wherein said coating comprises a pair of layers in a configuration of materials selected from the group consisting of Mo/Si, Mo/Be and MoRu/Be.

11. The optical component of claim 1 , wherein the optical component is a reticle mask for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography.

12. The optical component of claim 1 , wherein said radiation includes a wavelength (λ)≦193 nm.

13. The optical component of claim 1 , wherein the optical component is a reticle mask for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography.

14. An optical component, comprising:

a material having a surface that, when subjected to radiation, heats to a maximum temperature (T max ), and has a temperature variation thereon within a range of T max ±3K,

wherein said material has a temperature-dependent coefficient of thermal expansion (α(T)) of about zero at a temperature T 0 , and

wherein T max −3K≦T 0 ≦T max +3K.

15. The optical component of claim 14 , wherein α(T) has an approximately linear temperature dependence α(T)=m(T−T 0 ) in a temperature region close to T 0 , where m is a gradient of α(T).

16. The optical component of claim 15 , where |m|<1·10 −6 K −2 .

17. The optical component of claim 14 , wherein said material is selected from the group consisting of glass ceramic and Ti-doped quartz glass.

18. The optical component of claim 14 , wherein said material comprises a substrate material.

19. The optical component of claim 18 , further comprising a coating applied to said substrate material.

20. The optical component of claim 18 , wherein said substrate material is selected from the group consisting of glass ceramic and Ti-doped quartz glass.

21. The optical component of claim 18 , wherein the optical component is a mirror comprising a coating applied to said substrate material.

22. The optical component of claim 21 , wherein said coating comprises a material selected from the group consisting of ruthenium, palladium and rhodium layer.

23. The optical component of claim 21 , wherein said coating comprises a pair of layers in a configuration of materials selected from the group consisting of Mo/Si, Mo/Be and MoRu/Be.

24. An illumination system for illuminating a field in a plane, said illumination system comprising:

an optical component that includes a material having a surface that, when subjected to radiation of a wavelength ≦193 nm, heats to a maximum temperature (T max ), and has a temperature variation (δT) thereon,

wherein said material has a temperature-dependent coefficient of thermal expansion (α(T)) of about zero at a temperature T 0 , and

wherein T max −0.5·δT≦T 0 ≦T max +0.5·δT.

25. A projection objective for projecting an object into an object plane, said projection objective comprising:

an optical component that includes a material having a surface that, when subjected to radiation of a wavelength ≦193 nm, heats to a maximum temperature (T max ), and has a temperature variation (δT) thereon,

wherein said material has a temperature-dependent coefficient of thermal expansion (α(T)) of about zero at a temperature T 0 , and

wherein T max −0.5·δT≦T 0 ≦T max +0.5·δT.

26. The projection objective of claim 25 , wherein said optical component is a mirror.

27. A projection exposure system for microlithography, comprising:

a carrier for holding a structure-bearing mask;

a carrier for holding a light-sensitive substrate;

a source of radiation;

an illumination system that collects said radiation and forwards said radiation to illuminate said structure-bearing mask; and

a projection objective that projects said structure-bearing mask onto said light-sensitive substrate;

wherein at least one of said illumination system or said projection objective includes an optical component that includes a material having a surface that, when subjected to said radiation, heats to a maximum temperature (T max ), and has a temperature variation (δT) thereon,

wherein said material has a temperature-dependent coefficient of thermal expansion (α(T)) of about zero at a temperature T 0 , and

wherein T max −0.5·δT≦T 0 ≦T max +0.5·δT.

28. A method for producing a microelectronic component, comprising employing the projection exposure system of claim 27 .