Radial polarization-rotating optical arrangement and microlithographic projection exposure system incorporating said arrangement

An optical arrangement is disclosed wherein an entering beam is converted into an exiting beam having a total cross section of light which is linearly polarized essentially in the radial direction by rotation. For this purpose, rasters of half-wave plates (41, 42, 4i), a combination of birefringent quarter-wave plate 420 and a circular plate 430 is suggested in combination with a conical polarizer 21. This arrangement is preferably utilized in the illumination portion of a microlithographic projection exposure system. It is important that the arrangement be mounted behind all asymmetric or polarizing component elements 103a.