Patent ID: 7489329

Claim:
A scanning apparatus using a vibration light modulator, comprising: a first lens unit for scanning a single beam, emitted from a light source, parallel to an optical path direction; a light modulator comprising a plurality of actuating cells formed on a substrate, the plurality of actuating cells being selectively movable relative to the substrate to generate a plurality of diffracted beams from the single beam; vibration means for vibrating the light modulator substrate; a slit for allowing diffracted beams having certain diffraction coefficients, among the plurality of diffracted beams incident from the light modulator, to pass therethrough; a second lens unit for radiating the diffracted beams having certain diffraction coefficients, selectively passed through the slit, onto a photosensitive surface of a photosensitive member while spacing the diffracted beams apart from each other by a predetermined distance, wherein said vibration means is configured to rotate the light modulator substrate back and forth about an axis to vary the angle of the light modulator substrate relative to the photosensitive member, thereby redirecting a diffracted beam generated by the light modulator and passed through the slit onto a plurality of locations on the photosensitive surface of the photosensitive member, the plurality of locations having predetermined distances therebetween.