Elements of Optical and Laser Beam Scanning Modeling of Mirror and Prism Scanning Devices

This book provides mathematical analyses of scanning devices in optical and laser systems to yield results with higher accuracy than those obtained by geometrical imaging an object with a movable mirror or prism. Topics include the laws of reflection and refraction and the mathematical preliminaries of analytical raytracing; mirror-scanning devices with one axis of rotation (conic-section scanning) and with two axes of rotation (gimbaled mirror and galvanometric scanners in cascade for 2D scanning); and Risley-prism-based beam-steering systems. Readers should have a foundation in vector operation and calculus, and a reasonable knowledge of elementary optics and lasers.