Non-photographic, digital laser image recording

Claim 1

A real time, flat-field laser recording system employing an ablatable recording medium carried on a flat substrate comprising: holding means for positioning the recording medium flat in a recording plane; a diffraction limited twin objective having first and second spaced-apart, aligned lens means for focusing a laser beam in a diffraction limited spot in the focal plane of the first lens means and for projecting a diffraction limited, focused image of the spot in the recording plane irrespective of the relative angular inclination of the incoming beam relative to the twin objective; means between the lens means of the twin objective filling the optical path between the lens means with a material having an index of refraction substantially equal to the index of refraction of the lens means; a laser for emitting a laser beam; means for modulating the laser beam; and mirror means for angularly deflecting the laser beam with respect to the optical axis of the twin objective; whereby such angular deflection of the laser by the mirror means causes a corresponding angular deflection of the focused image over the recording plane in corresponding X and Y directions while the modulation of the laser beam by the modulating means causes the formation of a two-dimensional ensemble of ablated holes in the recording medium at a line speed equal to the operating speed of the mirror means.