Method and apparatus for exposure of substrates

A method for exposure of very precise patterns by focused laser light onto a large substrate which is photosensitive at a wavelength of the laser light, comprising the steps of:

• providing a database describing geometrical elements in a pattern,
• providing at least one laser light beam from at least one laser mounted on a fixed frame,
• spreading and focusing said at least one laser beam into at least 100 foci, distributed in a first direction (y) on a surface of a substrate, by means of a beam-spreading optical system and a focusing lens,
• mounting said beam-spreading optical system and said focusing lens on a movable carriage,
• modulating optical power reaching each focus in accordance with data in at least one database,
• moving the substrate stepwise in the first direction (y) relative to said fixed frame,
• continuously moving the carriage with the beam-spreading optical system and focusing lens relative to the fixed frame in a second direction (x) substantially perpendicular to said first direction (y), and
• collimating the laser beam propagated from the laser mounted on the fixed frame to the moving carriage essentially parallel to the second direction (x).