Optical scanning with phase shifted beam
First Claim
1. A beam scanning system for scanning an imaging surface, comprising:
- a phase shifter configured to issue phase signals;
a radiation emitter configured to emit a beam of radiation in accordance with the issued phase signals;
a deflector configured to direct the emitted beam to form a scan line on the imaging surface.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A beam scanning system for scanning an imaging surface includes a phase shifter for issuing phase signals, a radiation emitter for emitting a beam of radiation and a deflection element, such as an acousto-optic modulator or translating lens, for deflecting the radiation beam. Depending on the implementation, the emitter can be configured to phase shift the radiation beam and/or the deflection element can be configured to deflect the radiation beam in accordance with the issued phase signals. By emitting and/or deflecting the radiation beam in accordance with the phase signals, the length of the scan line formed on the imaging surface can be controlled. A deflector, such as a spin mirror or rotatable prism, is provided to direct the radiation beam to form a scan line on the imaging surface.
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Citations
42 Claims
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1. A beam scanning system for scanning an imaging surface, comprising:
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a phase shifter configured to issue phase signals; a radiation emitter configured to emit a beam of radiation in accordance with the issued phase signals; a deflector configured to direct the emitted beam to form a scan line on the imaging surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A beam scanning system for scanning an imaging surface, comprising:
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a radiation emitter configured to emit a beam of radiation; a deflector configured to direct the radiation beam to form a scan line on the imaging surface; a phase shifter configured to issue phase signals; and a deflection element configured to phase shift the radiation beam by tan θ
/2 in accordance with the phase signals, where θ
is an angle of rotation of the deflection element. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8)
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9. A beam scanning system for scanning an imaging surface, comprising:
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a radiation emitter configured to emit a beam of radiation; a deflector configured to direct the radiation beam to form a scan line on the imaging surface; a phase shifter configured to issue phase shift signals; and a translating lens configured to deflect the radiation beam in accordance with the issued phase shift signals. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11)
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12. A beam scanning system for scanning an imaging surface, comprising:
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a radiation emitter configured to emit a beam of radiation; a deflector configured to direct the radiation beam to scan the imaging surface; a detector configured to detect a location of the radiation beam at the deflector and to issue detector signals corresponding to the detected location of the radiation beam; and at least one of (i) a phase shifter configured to direct phase shifting of the radiation beam in accordance with the issued detector signals and (ii) a deflection element configured to deflect the radiation beam in accordance with the issued detector signals. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
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15. A beam scanning system for scanning an imaging surface, comprising:
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an emitter configured to emit a beam of radiation having a first circularly polarized beam component and a second circularly polarized beam component; a beam splitter configured to separate the first beam component from the second beam component; a deflection element configured to deflect only the first beam component; a beam combiner configured to combine the deflected first beam component and the second beam component to form a combined radiation beam; a quarter wave plate configured to phase shift a wavelength of the combined radiation beam; a spin element configured to direct the phase shifted combined beam of radiation to scan the imaging surface; and a collimator configured to project the phase shifted first beam component to a first location on the spin element and to project the phase shifted second beam component to a second location, different than the first location, on the spin element. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A beam scanning system for scanning an imaging surface, comprising:
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at least one emitter configured to emit a first beam of radiation and a second beam of radiation; an offset element configured to offset the first radiation beam by a first fixed offset angle and the second radiation beam by a second fixed offset angle; and a spin element configured to receive the offset first radiation beam at a first location corresponding to the first fixed offset angle and the offset second radiation beam at a second location, different than the first location, corresponding to the second fixed offset angle, and to direct the received first radiation beam to form a first scan line on the imaging surface and to direct the received second radiation beam to form a second scan line on the imaging surface. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23)
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24. A method for scanning an imaging surface, comprising the steps of:
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issuing phase shift signals; emitting a beam of radiation from an emitter which is phase shifted based on the issued phase shift signals; and directing the phase shifted beam to form a scan line on the imaging surface. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27)
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28. A method for scanning an imaging surface, comprising the steps of:
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emitting a beam of radiation; deflecting the radiation beam so as to phase shift the radiation beam by tan θ
/2; andforming a scan line on the imaging surface with the deflected radiation beam; wherein the scan line is formed by rotating a deflection element to further deflect the deflected radiation beam, and θ
is an angle of the rotation of the deflection element. - View Dependent Claims (29)
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30. A method for scanning an imaging surface, comprising the steps of:
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emitting a beam of radiation; issuing phase shift signals; translating a lens to deflect the radiation beam in accordance with the issued phase shift signals; and forming a scan line on the imaging surface with the deflected radiation beam. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32)
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33. A method for scanning an imaging surface, comprising the steps of:
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emitting a beam of radiation; detecting a position of the radiation beam; performing one of phase shifting and deflecting the radiation beam in accordance with the detected position; and forming a scan line on the imaging surface with the phase shifted or deflected radiation beam. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35)
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36. A method for scanning an imaging surface, comprising the steps of:
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emitting a beam of radiation having a first circularly polarized beam component and a second circularly polarized beam component; separating the first beam component from the second beam component; deflecting the first beam component; combining the deflected first beam component and the second beam component to form a combined radiation beam; phase shifting a wavelength of the combined radiation beam; projecting the phase shifted first beam component to a first location on the spin element and projecting the phase shifted second beam component to a second location, different than the first location, on the spin element; and directing the phase shifted first beam component from the spin element to form a first scan line at the imaging surface and the phase shifted second beam component from the spin element to form a second scan line at the imaging surface. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39)
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40. A method for scanning an imaging surface, comprising the steps of:
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emitting a first beam of radiation and a second beam of radiation; offsetting the first radiation beam by a first fixed offset angle and the second radiation beam by a second fixed offset angle; receiving the offset first radiation beam at a first location corresponding to the first fixed offset angle and the offset second radiation beam at a second location, different than the first location, corresponding to the second fixed offset angle; and deflecting the received first radiation beam to form a first scan line on the imaging surface and deflecting the received second radiation beam to form a second scan line on the imaging surface. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42)
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Specification