A lithography system including a polarized illumination source, a birefringence-controllable optical element, a birefringence inducer, a pattern generator, a linear polarizer, and a projection system. The polarized illumination source is configured to provide polarized light. The birefringence-controllable optical element is optically coupled to the polarized illumination source. The birefringence inducer is coupled to the birefringence-controllable optical element and configured to induce birefringence on the birefringence-controllable optical element to provide polarization-retarded polarized light. The pattern generator is optically coupled to the birefringence-controllable optical element. The linear polarizer is optically coupled to the pattern generator and configured (i) to receive the polarization-retarded polarized light and (ii) modify intensity distribution of the polarization-retarded polarized light to provide modified polarization-retarded polarized light. The projection system is configured to project the modified polarization-retarded polarized light.