Patent ID: 7023620

Claim:
An optical device for changing the pitch of a set of input beams propagating along optical axes parallel to an input axis and having a first pitch, P 1 , comprising: a first surface having a reflective region for receiving at least a portion of said set of input beams and for generating a first reflected set of beams propagating along optical axes parallel to an output axis which is different than said input axis; and a second surface positioned parallel to said first surface and spaced apart from said first surface by a first selected distance, W, said second surface having a plurality of reflective regions and a plurality of transmissive regions disposed on said second surface in a sequence that alternates between transmissive regions and reflective regions, wherein said second surface receives at least a portion of said set of input beams and, wherein said alternating reflective regions and transmissive regions are positioned such that said input beams received by said second surface are reflected by said reflective regions, thereby generating a second reflected set of beams propagating along optical axes parallel to said output axis, and said first reflected set of beams are transmitted by said transmissive regions; whereby said first and second reflected sets of beams combine to form a set of output beams propagating along optical axes parallel to said output axis and having a second pitch, P 2 , wherein P 2 does not equal P 1 .