Electro-optic pulse imaging raster output scanner

Claim 1

A high performance pulse imaging system, comprising in combination: (a) means providing a beam of high intensity radiation; (b) a recording member on which images are formed, (c) modulator means for modulating said beam in response to an image signal input to provide an imaging beam; (d) a movable scanning element for line scanning said imaging beam across said recording member to expose said recording member and form images thereon; said modulator means including: (1) a substrate, and (2) a row of discrete electrodes in operative relation with said substrate, said beam impinging on said row of electrodes, selective application of preset potentials to individual ones of said electrodes changing the index of refraction of said substrate in the vicinity of said electrodes and causing each segment of said beam passing through said substrate where the index of refraction is changed to be diffracted into at least one other path, each diffracted segment cooperating with any other diffracted segments to form a diffracted beam, remaining non-diffracted segments of said beam cooperating to form a non-diffracted beam; (3) one of said diffracted or non-diffracted beams comprising said imaging beam; and (e) control means for stepping said potentials across said row of electrodes from one end to the other so that said modulator outputs a succession of the segments of said beam progressing along said row of electrodes for each imaging spot, the segments of said beam progressing in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of said scanning element whereby to balance the rate at which successive ones of the segments of said beam are impinged on said recording member with the rate of movement of said scanning element to obviate image blur.