Exposure apparatus and methods for structured exposure of a photosensitive layer

The invention relates to an exposure apparatus (5) for patterned exposure of a photosensitive layer (1), comprising: generating means (7) for generating a plurality of in particular parallel exposure beams (3), each said exposure beam (3) a portion of the photosensitive layer (1 is assigned), moving means (13) for particularly scanning moving the exposure beam (3) on the or to the respective associated portion as well as a (before the photosensitive layer 1) disposed relatively near-field optics (15) for converting a respective exposure beam ( 3) in an evanescent wave (17) for generating a light spot on the photosensitive layer (1) whose extent is less than the extension of a respective exposure beam (3) before the near-field optics (15). The invention also relates to an associated exposure method.