Patent ID: 7483196

Claim:
A multiple beam generator for use in a scanning system, said generator comprising: an acousto-optic deflector (AOD) which during use receives a laser beam and generates a deflected beam, the deflection of which is determined by an AOD control signal; a diffractive element which generates an array of input beams from the deflected beam; an acousto-optic modulator (AOM) which during use receives the array of input beams and separately modulates each of the received beams in accordance with an AOM control signal to produce an output beam array that is scanned over a scan region by the scanning system; and a control circuit which during operation generates the AOD control signal and varies a characteristic of the AOD control signal to account for errors in the scanning system, said errors attributable to at least one of (1) variations in beam velocity over a scan line within the scanning system, (2) intensity errors associated with the scanning system, and (3) intensity variations from stripe deflection across a sound field within the AOM.