Lithography exposure device and lithography process

A lithography process for the production of structures extending in a surface area of a light-sensitive layer, comprising:

• exposing said light-sensitive layer by means of a plurality of successive exposure steps to generate a plurality of conversion areas in the light-sensitive layer, said conversion areas together resulting in said structures,
• each exposure step serving to transfer the material forming the light-sensitive layer from an unexposed initial state into a converted end state within the conversion area by means of at least one radiation field,
• each radiation field being generated in the light-sensitive layer by the focusing of laser radiation and additional spatial limitation of the laser radiation by means of a screen aperture, said screen aperture being arranged at a surface of a near field optical means from which said radiation field exits and at a distance from a surface of said light sensitive layer in the order of a magnitude of a wavelength of said laser light,
• said screen aperture being elongated in shape and having an extension in a longitudinal direction which is greater than an extension in a lateral direction transverse to said longitudinal direction, the screen aperture being elongated at right angles to the lateral extension in the lateral direction on an order of magnitude of the wavelength of the laser radiation or less, and
• use of at least two partially overlapping radiation fields for the production of some of the conversion areas in the course of a relative movement between said light-sensitive layer and said radiation fields in an exposure movement direction, said at least two partially overlapping radiation fields having a distribution of energy that requires the action of said at least two radiation fields on the same conversion area in the light-sensitive layer, to transfer the material of the light-sensitive layer in this area into said converted end state, said conversion area being within the area of overlap of said partially overlapping radiation fields.