Patent ID: 8139277

Claim:
An apparatus for forming an image on a photosensitive surface, comprising: a first integrated multi-beam source comprising a plurality of light emitters and optical elements disposed to simultaneously produce a plurality of first light beams having a first polarization and which are in substantially parallel optical paths, and which further are incident on said photosensitive surface at an array of first spots on said photosensitive surface, adjacent first spots spaced apart by a substantially uniform process-direction spacing and a substantially uniform scan-direction spacing; a second integrated multi-beam source comprising a plurality of light emitters and optical elements disposed to simultaneously produce a plurality of second plurality of light beams having a second polarization, different than said first polarization, and which further are in substantially parallel optical paths, said optical paths of said light beams produced by said second integrated multi-beam source being non-parallel to said optical paths of said light beams produced by said first integrated multi-beam source, said plurality of second plurality of light beams being incident on said photosensitive surface at an array of second spots on said photosensitive surface, adjacent second spots spaced apart by a substantially uniform process-direction spacing and a substantially uniform scan-direction spacing; a first polarizing optical beam splitter which is at least partially transmissive to light of said first polarization and at least partially reflective of light of said second polarization, disposed in the optical paths of both of said first and second plurality of light beams such that the optical paths of said first plurality of light beams and the optical paths of said second plurality of light beams are made to be substantially parallel to one another, said first polarizing optical beam splitter outputting an imaging beam array into an imaging path, said imaging beam array containing a portion of optical energy of said first and said second plurality of light beams; wherein said first integrated multi-beam source and said second integrated multi-beam source are positioned and disposed such that said second light spots are shifted in position relative to said first light spots at said photosensitive surface, and further where a portion of the optical energy of said first light beams is directed to a first beam monitor and a portion of the optical energy of said second plurality of light beams is directed to a second beam monitor.