Image scanner technology

Three classes of scanning devices are evaluated against a hypothetical set of requirements for a digital mapping system: electronic scanners, which may use cathode ray tubes (CRT), vidicon or image dissector tubes; electro-optical scanners, which may use lasers, light-emitting diodes, or conventional lamps as sources of illumination; and solid-state scanners, which may use charge-coupled devices (CCD), charge injection devices (CID), charge-coupled photodiode devices (CCPD), or self-scanned photodiode devices (SSPD). The major performance criteria for digital mapping application are resolution, format accommodation, data rates, geometric accuracy, photometric accuracy and dynamic range. Systems adaptable to all these requirements include: drumtype laser scanners, rotating-mirror laser scanners, and solid-state scanners comprised of a series of optically butted linear arrays. These requirements, as well as the operating environment (i.e., production or research and development), must be evaluated before the appropriate technology can be selected and a system design recommended.