Resolution Of Laser Scanners

Equations for the diffraction-limited resolution of laser scanners are developed to encompass all known forms of angularly deflected systems. This includes the polygon (pyramidal or prismatic) with or without optical power in its elements (such as lenticular or holographic), whether overillumi-nated or underilluminated, forming output beams that are collimated, con-vergent, or divergent, with outputs normal or nonnormal to the rotating axis, exhibiting arbitrary displacement from the mechanical fulcrum (including zero), and operating with arbitrary ratio of optical-to-mechanical scan angle. Resolution is expressed completely at the deflecting element, requiring no determination of image spot size, and unless aberrated or vignetted, is inde-pendent of subsequent passive optics.