Improving the scan throughput of polygon scanners.

Abstract

Polygon scanners allow for some of the fastest available line rates for raster scanning imaging. Due to the optical invariant, however, there is a trade-off between the line rate and the number of resolvable points per line. Here, we describe a device that can increase the number of resolvable points per line of mirror-based scanners without sacrificing speed. We first theoretically model the effect of the device on the number of resolvable points per line of a polygon scanner, and then experimentally test this device with both a simplified facet system and a transmission microscope using a polygon scanner. We demonstrate an improvement in the field of view by 1.7 times without a reduction in spatial resolution.