JPH04238319A - Light beam scanner and light beam scanning method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain the light beam scanner which can improve processing qual ity. CONSTITUTION:The incident light beam on an acoustooptical element 18 is diffracted in the direction corresponding to the frequency of the inputted signal and is emitted at the power meeting the amplitude of the above-mentioned signal. The emitted light beam is projected via any of plural recording lenses to a photosensitive material and the images are recorded thereon. A host computer 88 inserts an ND filter 51 into the optical path of the light beam in such a manner that the power of the incident light beam on the acoustooptical element 18 attains a prescribed value or below when the image is recorded in a high reduction rate. This controller also controls an AOM driver 84 via a signal generating circuit 82 in such a manner that the amplitude of the above- mentioned signal attains a prescribed value or above.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention provides a light beam equipped with an acousto-optic element that diffracts an incident light beam in a direction corresponding to the frequency of an input signal and emits the light beam with a power corresponding to the amplitude of the signal. The present invention relates to a scanning device and a light beam scanning method for recording an image using the acousto-optic element.

0002

[Prior Art] Conventionally, multi-frequency acousto-optic elements (
A light beam scanning device has been proposed that can read or record stably and at high speed by forming multiple laser beams using an optical modulation device equipped with an AOM (Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-5741, No. 54-5455, Japanese Patent Publication No. 57-41618, Japanese Patent Publication No. 53-985
(See Publication No. 6, etc.)

[0003] A light beam scanning device such as a laser beam recording device that records an image using such a multi-frequency acousto-optic device includes a plurality of oscillators each outputting a signal of a different frequency, and a plurality of oscillators connected to each of the output terminals of the oscillators. and input means consisting of a plurality of amplitude controllers that control the amplitude of the signals output from the oscillator, and a mixing means that mixes each of the signals output from the plurality of amplitude controllers and inputs the mixture to the acousto-optic element. We are prepared. When the plurality of signals are input with a laser beam incident on the acousto-optic element, the laser beam is diffracted by the acousto-optic effect, and the same number of laser beams as the number of signals are emitted from the acousto-optic element as diffracted light. be ejected. Note that the diffraction angle of each emitted laser beam depends on the frequency of the signal, and the power of each laser beam depends on the amplitude of the signal. In the laser beam recording device, the plurality of laser beams are simultaneously irradiated onto the photosensitive surface of the photosensitive material via a scanning optical system and a recording optical system.

The scanning optical system is composed of a rotating polygon mirror, a galvano mirror, and the like. The multiple laser beams incident on the scanning optical system are simultaneously deflected in multiple main scanning directions by being reflected by the reflective surface of a polygon mirror that rotates at high speed, and are further rotated at a predetermined speed. By being reflected by the galvanometer mirror, it is deflected in the sub-scanning direction, and an image is formed on a two-dimensional plane.

Further, the recording optical system includes a plurality of lenses having different magnifications, and one of the plurality of lenses is placed on the optical path of the laser beam. The plurality of laser beams that have passed through the scanning optical system pass through a lens placed on the optical path in the recording optical system, and then are irradiated onto the photosensitive surface, forming an image of a predetermined size on the photosensitive surface. By changing the lens through which the laser beam passes in the recording optical system, the size of the image formed on the photosensitive surface, that is, the image recording density is changed. In addition, in order to keep the exposure amount per unit area of the photosensitive surface constant, when recording an image at a high recording density on the photosensitive surface, in other words, a lens with a high reduction ratio is placed on the optical path. When recording, the amplitude of the signal input to the acousto-optic element is reduced. This suppresses the power of the laser beam emitted from the acousto-optic element and prevents overexposure of the photosensitive material.

[0006]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, as is well known, even when no signal is input to the acousto-optic device, some scattered light from the incident laser beam,
It emits a so-called flare. This flare is caused by density unevenness (crystal striae) in the medium such as glass that the laser beam passes through.
This is caused by uneven thickness of an anti-reflection film formed on the surface of glass or the like, so-called multi-coating, or by dust adhering to the surface of glass or the like. A portion of this flare is irradiated onto the photosensitive surface via the scanning optical system and the recording optical system. This results in
The non-image portion of the photosensitive surface and the portion of the image that is not irradiated with the laser beam are slightly exposed due to the flare, degrading the quality of the image.

In particular, when recording an image on a photosensitive surface at a high recording density, the power of the laser beam emitted from the acousto-optic element is suppressed by reducing the amplitude of the signal input to the acousto-optic element as described above. Therefore, the ratio between the power of the laser beam emitted when a signal is input to the acousto-optic element and the power of the flare when no signal is input to the acousto-optic element, the so-called extinction ratio, decreases. Therefore, the difference between the exposure amount of the part of the image that is irradiated with the laser beam and the exposure amount due to flare of the non-image part of the photosensitive surface and the part of the image that is not irradiated with the laser beam becomes small, and the quality of the image is reduced. Significantly decreased. As described above, in a light beam scanning device such as a laser beam recording device, the processing quality deteriorates as the extinction ratio decreases, especially when processing is performed by suppressing the power of the light beam.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above facts, and an object thereof is to obtain a light beam scanning device that can improve processing quality.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a light beam scanning method that can improve the quality of images recorded on photosensitive materials.

0010

[Means for Solving the Problem] In the invention as set forth in claim 1, an acousto-optic system that diffracts an incident light beam in a direction corresponding to the frequency of an input signal and emits it with a power corresponding to the amplitude of the signal. an input means for inputting a signal having an amplitude of a predetermined value or more into the acousto-optic element, and an input means for inputting a light beam having a power of a predetermined value or less into the acousto-optic element.

[0011] In the invention as set forth in claim 2, there is provided an acousto-optic element that diffracts an incident light beam in a direction corresponding to the frequency of the input signal and emits it with a power corresponding to the amplitude of the signal; an input means for inputting to the acousto-optic element;
an input means for inputting a light beam into an acousto-optic element; and an input means for inputting a light beam into an acousto-optic element; and control means for controlling the input means.

In the third aspect of the invention, the light emitted from the acousto-optic element diffracts the incident light beam in a direction corresponding to the frequency of the input signal and emits it with a power corresponding to the amplitude of the signal. When recording an image by scanning with a beam so that the amount of exposure per unit area of the photosensitive material becomes a predetermined value, the power of the light incident on the acousto-optic element is attenuated, and then the light input to the acousto-optic element is recorded. The amplitude of the signal is increased so that the exposure amount becomes the predetermined value.

[0013]

In the first aspect of the invention, the input means inputs a signal having an amplitude of a predetermined value or more to the acousto-optic element, and the input means causes a light beam having a power of less than a predetermined value to enter the acousto-optic element. Therefore, the power of the light beam emitted from the acousto-optic element is the same as in the conventional case. On the other hand, the power of scattered light, so-called flare, emitted when no signal is input to the acousto-optic element depends on the power of the light beam incident on the acousto-optic element, and does not change even if the amplitude of the signal is increased. In the present invention, since a light beam having a power equal to or less than a predetermined value is incident on the acousto-optic element, the power of the flare emitted from the acousto-optic element is smaller than that of the prior art. Therefore, the ratio between the power of the light beam emitted from the acousto-optic element and the power of the flare emitted from the acousto-optic element, the so-called extinction ratio, is improved. As a result, in a light beam processing device that records an image on a photosensitive material, for example, it is possible to suppress the amount of exposure due to flare in the non-image portion of the photosensitive surface and the portion of the image that is not irradiated with the laser beam, and the image quality is improved. Thus, according to the present invention, the extinction ratio can be improved, and the processing quality of the optical beam scanning device can be improved.

In the invention as claimed in claim 1, the input means includes a light beam generator that emits a light beam, and an attenuation means such as an ND filter disposed between the light beam generator and the acousto-optic element. It can be composed of and. Furthermore, the input means may be configured only with a light beam generator that is adjusted to emit a light beam with a small power equal to or less than a predetermined value.

In the invention as claimed in claim 2, the power of the light beam incident on the acousto-optic element is attenuated according to the scanning conditions, and the amplitude of the signal input to the acousto-optic element is controlled to be equal to or higher than a predetermined value. are doing. As a result, for example, when performing processing by suppressing the power of a light beam, which has been a problem in the past, the power of the light beam incident on the acousto-optic element is attenuated and the amplitude of the signal input to the acousto-optic element is reduced. By controlling the extinction ratio to be equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the extinction ratio can be improved, and the processing quality of the light beam scanning device can be improved. In addition, when high processing quality is required, for example, a light beam processing device that records images on photosensitive materials may be provided with a fine mode that records images clearly, and when this mode is selected, the control described above can be performed. It's okay. In this way, according to the present invention, it is also possible to selectively improve processing quality as needed.

In the invention as set forth in claim 2, the power of the light beam can be changed (attenuated) by configuring the input means as follows. That is, the input means includes a light beam generator that emits a light beam, and an attenuation means such as an ND filter that is arranged between the light beam generator and the acousto-optic element and can appear on the optical path of the light beam. At the same time, the power of the light beam incident on the acousto-optic element can be changed by controlling the movement of the attenuation means by the control means. In this case, the power of the light beam incident on the acousto-optic element can be attenuated by moving the attenuation means such as the ND filter onto the optical path. Further, the input means includes a light beam generator capable of changing the power of the emitted light beam, and the control means changes the power of the light beam emitted from the light beam generator according to the scanning conditions. It's okay. Furthermore, the input means includes a plurality of light beam generators and a combining means such as a half mirror that combines the light beams emitted from each of the light beam generators, and each light beam generator is controlled by the control means. It is also possible to change the power of the light beam by controlling activation or deactivation of the light beam. In addition, the input means may include a plurality of light beam generators that emit light beams of different powers, and a plurality of light beam generators that are arranged between the light beam generators and the acousto-optic element to receive one of the light beams emitted from each of the light beam generators. A selection means such as a mirror that selectively causes the light to enter the acousto-optic element;
The power of the light beam incident on the acousto-optic element can also be changed by controlling the selection means by the control means (for example, changing the angle of the mirror).

In the invention as set forth in claim 3, when recording an image so that the exposure amount per unit area of the photosensitive material becomes a predetermined value, after attenuating the power of the light incident on the acousto-optic element. The amplitude of the signal input to the acousto-optic element is increased so that the exposure amount becomes the predetermined value. By attenuating the power of the light incident on the acousto-optic element, the power of the flare emitted from the acousto-optic element becomes smaller. On the other hand, in order to increase the amplitude of the signal input to the acousto-optic element, the power of the light beam emitted from the acousto-optic element remains unchanged. Therefore, the ratio between the power of the light beam output from the acousto-optic element and the power of the flare, the so-called extinction ratio, is improved, and the quality of the image recorded on the photosensitive material can be improved.

[0018]

[Embodiments] [First Embodiment] A first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is based on the present invention.
It is not limited to the numerical values described in the examples.

FIG. 2 shows a laser beam scanning device 10 according to the first embodiment. Laser beam scanning device 1
0 is equipped with a base surface plate 11, and on the upper surface of the base surface plate 11, a He-Ne laser 12 connected to a power source (not shown) is disposed as a laser beam generator. Note that in place of this He-Ne laser 12, other gas lasers, semiconductor lasers, or the like may be used. An AOM entrance lens 14 is provided on the laser beam exit side of the He-Ne laser 12.
, reflective mirrors 16 are arranged in this order. The laser beam emitted from the He-Ne laser 12 is irradiated onto the reflection mirror 16 via the AOM entrance lens 14, and is reflected in a direction parallel to the upper surface of the base surface plate 11 and substantially orthogonal to the optical axis direction.

Further, an ND filter 51 as an attenuation means is provided near the laser beam optical path between the He-Ne laser 12 and the AOM entrance lens 14. The ND filter 51 is driven by a filter driver 55 (see FIG. 1) and inserted into the laser beam optical path between the He-Ne laser 12 and the AOM input lens 14 (see FIG. 2).
2) and a position retracted from the laser beam optical path (the position shown by a solid line in FIG. 2). The ND filter 51 is inserted into the laser beam optical path and attenuates the power of the laser beam emitted from the He-Ne laser 12 to approximately 1/10. The filter driver 55 is connected to a host computer 88, and its operation is controlled by the host computer 88.

On the laser beam exit side of the reflection mirror 16, an AOM (acousto-optic modulator) 18, an AOM exit lens 20, a reflection mirror 22, and a relay lens 24 are arranged in this order. As shown in FIG. 1, the AOM 18 includes an acousto-optic medium 21 that produces an acousto-optic effect. A transducer 17 that outputs an ultrasonic wave according to an input high-frequency signal and a sound absorber 19 that absorbs the ultrasonic wave propagated through the acousto-optic medium 21 are attached to opposing surfaces of the acousto-optic medium 21. Transducer 17 is connected to an AOM driver 84 that drives the AOM. This AOM
The driver 84 will be described later. In this example,
Eight laser beams are emitted from the laser beam incident on this AOM 18 as diffracted light. The laser beam emitted from the AOM 18 is irradiated onto the reflection mirror 22 via the AOM injection lens 20, reflected in a direction substantially parallel to the upper surface of the base surface plate 11 and substantially orthogonal to the optical axis direction, and irradiated onto the relay lens 24. be done.

Note that a shutter (not shown) is provided between the AOM exit lens 20 and the reflection mirror 22. This shutter is used, for example, from the end of recording one frame to the start of recording another frame, or from the end of recording to one fish until the start of recording to another fish, etc. is moved to block the laser beam when not recording. A photoelectric converter 80 (see FIG. 1) is attached to the laser beam incident side surface of this shutter. The photoelectric converter 80 is connected to a signal generation circuit 82, and outputs a voltage corresponding to the power of the received laser beam to the signal generation circuit 82 when an image is not recorded. Note that the signal generation circuit 82 will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 2, a reflecting mirror 26, a first cylindrical lens 28, and a combining prism 30 are arranged in this order on the laser beam exit side of the relay lens 24. The laser beam emitted from the relay lens 24 is reflected by the reflecting mirror 26 at a substantially right angle in a direction substantially perpendicular to the upper surface of the base surface plate 11, and is irradiated onto the combining prism 30 via the first cylindrical lens 28. on the other hand,
A semiconductor laser 56 is disposed on the upper surface of the base surface plate 11, and a synchronizing laser beam oscillated from the semiconductor laser 56 is irradiated onto the combining prism 30 via a collimator lens 58. The combining prism 30 reflects the recording laser beam irradiated from the first cylindrical lens 30 in a direction substantially parallel to the upper surface of the base surface plate 11 and substantially perpendicular to the optical axis direction, and also reflects the recording laser beam in synchronization with the recording laser beam. Combines with optical laser beam.

A reflecting mirror 32 and a polygon mirror 34 are arranged in this order on the laser beam exit side of the combining prism 30. The reflecting mirror 32 reflects the laser beam emitted from the combining prism 30 in a direction inclined at approximately 45 degrees from the optical axis direction so that the laser beam is incident on the polygon mirror 34 . A polygon mirror driver (not shown) that rotates the polygon mirror 34 at high speed is attached to the polygon mirror 34, and the laser beam irradiated from the reflection mirror 32 is deflected in the main scanning direction by the polygon mirror 34, and then The scanning lens 36 arranged on the reflection side of the mirror 34 is irradiated with light.

A synchronous light splitting prism 38 and a second cylindrical lens 4 are disposed on the laser beam exit side of the scanning lens 36.
2. A long mirror 44 is arranged in this order, and a linear encoder 40 and a photoelectric converter 60 are arranged on the reflection side of the synchronous light splitting prism 40. The laser beam emitted from the scanning lens 36 is reflected by the synchronous light splitting prism 38, and the reflected synchronous laser beam is irradiated onto the linear encoder 40. The linear encoder 40 is composed of a flat plate in which a large number of transparent parts and opaque parts are alternately arranged in stripes at a constant pitch in the main scanning direction. The synchronizing laser beam deflected in the main scanning direction by the polygon mirror 34 scans the linear encoder 40 along the main scanning direction via the synchronizing light splitting prism 38. At this time, the synchronizing laser beam transmitted through the transparent portion is detected by the photoelectric converter 60, and the photoelectric converter 60 outputs a pulse signal corresponding to the scanning. A pulse signal from this photoelectric converter 60 is input to a galvano mirror driver (not shown) that controls the angle of the galvano mirror 48. On the other hand, the recording laser beam that has passed through the synchronous light splitting prism 38 is irradiated onto the elongated mirror 44 via the second cylindrical lens 42 . The laser beam emitted from the second cylindrical lens 42 is reflected by the elongated mirror 44 in a direction substantially parallel to the upper surface of the base surface plate 11 and substantially orthogonal to the optical axis direction.

A relay lens 46 and a galvanometer mirror 48 are arranged in this order on the laser beam reflecting side of the elongated mirror 44. The laser beam emitted from the relay lens 46 is deflected by the galvanometer mirror 48 in the sub-scanning direction and reflected in a direction perpendicular to the upper surface of the base surface plate 11. A turret 52 is installed on the reflection side of the galvanometer mirror 48.
, a photosensitive material 54 such as microfilm are arranged in this order. As the photosensitive material 54, a silver salt film such as COM film NR or HR-II (both manufactured by Fuji Photo Film, trade names) can be used. The turret 52 has five recording lenses 50A, 50B, 50C.
, 50D, and 50E are installed. recording lens 50
A has a reduction magnification of 1/48, and the other recording lens 50B
, 50C, 50D, 50E, 1/42,
The reduction ratios are 1/32, 1/27, and 1/24.

Further, the turret 52 is rotationally driven by a turret driver 53 (see FIG. 1), and one of the five recording lenses 50 is inserted between the galvanometer mirror 48 and the photosensitive material 54. As shown in FIG. 1, the turret driver 53 is connected to a host computer 88, which will be described later. A keyboard 90 is connected to the host computer 88 for specifying the reduction ratio and the like. The host computer 88 controls the operation of the turret driver 53 so that the recording lens having the reduction magnification specified via the keyboard 90 is inserted between the galvanometer mirror 48 and the photosensitive material 54. As shown in Figure 1,
The laser beam reflected by the galvanometer mirror 48 is irradiated onto the photosensitive material 54 via one of the recording lenses,
Photosensitive material 54 is exposed. The photosensitive material 54 is wound in layers on a reel (not shown).

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
A host computer 88 is connected to 2. The host computer 88 outputs a signal indicating the amplitude value of the signal input to the acousto-optic element 18 to the signal generating circuit 82. The signal generating circuit 82 sets an amplitude value instructed by the host computer 88, and adjusts the set amplitude value based on the signal input from the photoelectric converter 80 during non-recording. The signal generation circuit 82 is connected to the AOM driver 84, and outputs an analog signal corresponding to the set amplitude value to the AOM driver 84.
Output to M driver 84.

A control circuit 86 is connected to the AOM driver 84, and the control circuit 86 is connected to the host computer 8.
8 are connected. The host computer 88 outputs image data to be recorded on the photosensitive material 54 to the control circuit 86. This image data is given as an 8-bit parallel signal. The control circuit 22 temporarily stores the image data and outputs an analog signal to the AOM driver 84 according to the number of ONs in the input 8-bit image data. The 8-bit image data is also output to the AOM driver 84.

As shown in FIG. 3, the AOM driver 84:
Oscillation circuits 62A, 62B, 62C, 62D, 62E, 62F, 6 that generate signals with frequencies f1 to f8, respectively.
2G, 62H, local level control circuit 64A, 64B
, 64C, 64D, 64E, 64F, 64G, 64H,
Switch circuits 66A, 66B, 66C, 66D, 66E
, 66F, 66G, and 66H. Each of the local level control circuits 64A-64H is an oscillation circuit 62A-6.
Switch circuits 66A to 66H are connected to the output ends of local level control circuits 64A to 64H, respectively. Further, each of the level control terminals of the local level control circuits 64A to 64H is connected to a signal generation circuit 82, and an analog signal corresponding to the above-mentioned amplitude is inputted thereto. The local level control circuit controls the amplitude of the signal output from each oscillation circuit to a magnitude corresponding to the input analog signal. Note that a double balanced mixer or a pin diode attenuator can be used as the local level control circuit. Further, each of the control terminals of the switch circuits 66A to 66H is connected to a control circuit 86, and any one bit of the 8-bit image data output from the control circuit 86 is input. Each switch circuit passes a signal when the input 1-bit data is on, and cuts off the signal when it is off.

Each output terminal of the switch circuits 66A and 66B is connected to a combiner 68 that mixes two signals at a ratio of 1:1.
They are respectively connected to the input terminals of AB. Similarly, each output terminal of the switch circuits 66C, 66D is connected to the input terminal of the combiner 68CD, each output terminal of the switch circuits 66E, 66F is connected to the input terminal of the combiner 68EF, and each output terminal of the switch circuits 66G, 66H is connected to the input terminal of the combiner 68EF. is combiner 68GH
is connected to the input end of the

The output end of combiner 68AB is connected to amplifier circuit 72AB via total level control circuit 70AB. Similarly, the output terminal of the combiner 68CD is connected to the amplifier circuit 72C via the total level control circuit 70CD.
The output end of combiner 68EF is connected to amplifier circuit 72EF via total level control circuit 70EF, and the output end of combiner 68GH is connected to amplifier circuit 72GH via total level control circuit 70GH. Like the local level control circuit, the total level control circuit is composed of a double balanced mixer and a pin diode attenuator. Each level control terminal of the total level control circuit is connected to the control circuit 86, and an analog signal corresponding to the number of on-states of the above-mentioned image data is input thereto. The total level control circuit adjusts the level of the signal according to the number of ON image data. Each output terminal of amplifier circuits 72AB and 72CD is connected to an input terminal of combiner 74, and each output terminal of amplifier circuits 72EF and 72GH is connected to an input terminal of combiner 76. The output ends of combiners 74 and 76 are connected to combiner 78, and the output end of combiner 78 is connected to transducer 17.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be explained with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Note that the flowchart in FIG. 4 is executed by the host computer 88 when the laser beam scanning device 10 is powered on.

In step 100, it is determined whether or not to start recording an image. When recording an image, the operator instructs the reduction magnification of the recording lens 50 via the keyboard 90 and then instructs to start the work. If the determination in step 100 is affirmative, in step 102 the recording lens 50 with the specified reduction magnification is connected to the galvano mirror 48 and the photosensitive material 5.
The operation of the turret driver 53 is controlled so that it is inserted between the turret driver 53 and the turret driver 53.

At step 104, data representing the correspondence between the reduction magnification and the amplitude value stored in a memory (not shown) is read. In this laser beam scanning device 10, the photosensitive material 5
The power of the laser beam irradiated on 4 is the recording density of the image,
That is, it is changed according to the reduction magnification of the recording lens 50 used. For example, when recording an image at a reduction ratio of 1/24, the writing power of the laser beam is 40 μW,
The exposure amount of the photosensitive material 54 is adjusted by setting the writing power of the laser beam to 10 μW when recording an image at a reduction ratio of 1/48. The memory stores the amplitude value of the signal input to the acousto-optic element 18 in order to obtain a laser beam of the above power when the ND filter 51 is not inserted into the laser beam optical path, in correspondence with the reduction magnification of the recording lens. , In this step, the amplitude value corresponding to the specified reduction magnification is read out.

In the next step 106, it is determined whether the reduction ratio corresponding to the specified reduction ratio is large. For example, in the first embodiment, when a reduction magnification of 1/48 is specified, the determination at step 106 is affirmative. If the determination in step 106 is affirmative, the amplitude value read from the memory is multiplied by 10 in step 107. Next step 108
Now, the filter driver 55 is controlled so that the ND filter 51 is inserted into the laser beam optical path, that is, moved to the position shown by the imaginary line in FIG. This results in
The power of the laser beam emitted from the He-Ne laser 12 is attenuated to approximately 1/10 by the ND filter 51, and then enters the acousto-optic element 18. Step 108
After execution, the process moves to step 110. On the other hand, step 1
If the determination in 06 is negative, in step 109, ND
The position where the filter 51 is retracted from the laser beam optical path (
The filter driver 55 is controlled to move to the position shown by the solid line in FIG. As a result, the He-Ne laser 1
The laser beam emitted from the ND filter 51 enters the acousto-optic element 18 without having its power attenuated. After executing step 109, the process moves to step 110.

At step 110, a signal indicating the amplitude value is output to the signal generating circuit 82. In the next step 112, the photosensitive material 54 is positioned at an exposure position. Step 1
In step 14, the amplitude of the signal input to the acousto-optic element 18 is adjusted. That is, with the shutter closed, a laser beam is emitted from the He-Ne laser, and a signal is output to turn on only one of the eight switch circuits 66 of the AOM driver 84. Further, the signal generation circuit 82 applies a voltage corresponding to the input amplitude value to the control terminal of the local level control circuit 64. As a result, one laser beam is emitted from the acousto-optic element 18 as diffracted light, and is incident on the photoelectric converter 80 attached to the shutter. The signal generating circuit 82 compares the power of the laser beam obtained by the photoelectric converter 80 with a preset reference value, and if they are equal, applies the voltage without changing the value. If the power of the laser beam is different from the reference value, a voltage equal to the voltage value plus the deviation is applied. Thereby, the amplitude of the signal input to the acousto-optic element 18 is changed so that the power of the laser beam becomes equal to the reference value. Such amplitude adjustment is performed for all eight laser beams emitted from the acousto-optic element 18 as diffracted light.

In step 116, an image for one exposure is recorded on the photosensitive material 54. That is, while moving the shutter in the opening direction, the control circuit 8 transmits image data corresponding to the case where the image to be recorded is raster-scanned with a width of 8 pixels in 8-bit increments.
Output to 6. The control circuit 86 inputs this image data to the control terminals of the switch circuits 66A to 66H, and also inputs a signal corresponding to the number of turned-on image data to the control terminals of the total level control circuits 70AB to 70GH.

The signals output from each oscillation circuit 62A to 62H of the AOM driver 84 are input into switch circuits 66A to 66H after having their amplitudes adjusted by local level control circuits 64A to 64H. Note that when recording an image at a reduction magnification of 1/48, the local level control circuit adjusts the amplitude of the signal to 10 times the amplitude corresponding to the normal write power (10 μW) according to the signal input from the signal generation circuit 82. Adjust so that the amplitude is the same. Each switch circuit is turned on and off according to the image data input to the control end, and either passes or blocks the input signal. The signals that have passed through the switch circuits are mixed by combiners 68AB to 68GH, and then sent to the total level control circuit 70.
It is input to AB to 70GH. The total level control circuit controls the amplitude of the signal according to the signal input to the control terminal. As a result, the power of each laser beam emitted from the acousto-optic element 18 becomes constant regardless of the number of ON signals, and image density unevenness due to the number of ON signals of image data is prevented. Total level control circuits 70AB to 7
The signal output from 0GH is sent to amplifier circuits 72AB to 7
Combiners 74, 76 and combiner 7 via 2GH
8 and is finally mixed and supplied to the transducer 17 of the AOM 18.

The transducer 17 converts the input signal into an ultrasonic signal according to the frequency and amplitude of the input signal. This ultrasonic signal propagates through the acousto-optic medium 21 and is absorbed by the sound absorber 19 . As a result, the acousto-optic effect acts on the laser beam incident on the acousto-optic element 18, causing diffraction when it passes through the acousto-optic medium 21.
A laser beam corresponding to the ultrasonic signal is emitted as diffracted light. The number of laser beams emitted as diffracted light is the same as the number of signals that have passed through the switch circuit, and each laser beam is emitted in a direction that corresponds to the frequency and the power that corresponds to the amplitude of the signal that has passed. Ru. The laser beam emitted from the acousto-optic element 18 passes through the polygon mirror 2
After being deflected in the main scanning direction by the galvanometer mirror 36 and in the sub-scanning direction by the galvanometer mirror 36, the light is irradiated onto the photosensitive material 54 via the recording lens 50.

Here, if the specified reduction ratio is 1/48, the process of step 108 is executed, and the He-N
An ND filter 51 is inserted on the laser beam optical path between the e-laser 12 and the AOM entrance lens 14. Therefore, the power of the laser beam emitted from the He-Ne laser 12 is attenuated to approximately 1/10, and the power of the laser beam emitted from the He-Ne laser 12 is attenuated to approximately 1/10, and
is incident on the Therefore, the power of the flare emitted from the acousto-optic element 18 and irradiated onto the photosensitive material 54 is suppressed to approximately 1/10 of that of the conventional one. On the other hand, since the amplitude of the signal input to the acousto-optic element 18 is increased approximately 10 times by the processing in step 107, the attenuation of the power of the laser beam incident on the acousto-optic element 18 and the acousto-optic element 18 are
The increase in the amplitude of the signal input to the photosensitive material 5 is canceled out, and a laser beam of normal power is emitted from the acousto-optic element 18, and the laser beam is written on the photosensitive material 5 with a normal writing power (for example, 10 μW).
4. Therefore, when the reduction magnification is 1/48, the ratio of the power of the laser beam irradiated onto the photosensitive material 54 and the power of the flare is improved by about 10 times.

For example, when a laser beam of constant power is incident on the acousto-optic element 18, the flare power irradiated onto the photosensitive material is 1 μW, and the photosensitive material 54 is irradiated with a reduction magnification of 1/48. When the writing power of the laser beam is 5 μW, the conventional extinction ratio is “5”. However, in the first embodiment, the power of the laser beam incident on the acousto-optic element 18 is attenuated to 1/10 by the ND filter 51, so the power of the flare irradiated onto the photosensitive material 54 is suppressed to 0.1 μW. . On the other hand, since a signal with an amplitude ten times larger is input to the acousto-optic element 18, the laser beam emitted from the acousto-optic element 18 is emitted with normal power and is irradiated onto the photosensitive material 54 with a power of 5 μW. . Therefore, the power ratio of the laser beam irradiated onto the photosensitive material 54 and the flare power is "50", and the quality of the image recorded on the photosensitive material 54 is improved.

When the recording of one image is completed as described above, it is determined in step 118 whether or not the recording of the image has been completed, and if it is determined that the recording of the image has not been completed, the process proceeds to step 112. Steps 112 to 118 are repeated until the determination in step 118 is affirmative. If the determination in step 118 is affirmative, the process returns to step 100.

As described above, in the first embodiment, when recording an image on the photosensitive material 54 at a large reduction ratio, the laser beam is adjusted such that the power of the laser beam incident on the acousto-optic element 18 is 1/10. Since the ND filter 51 is inserted in the optical path and the amplitude of the signal input to the acousto-optic element 18 is increased approximately 10 times, the ratio of the laser beam irradiated to the photosensitive material 54 and the flare can be improved. , the quality of the image recorded on the photosensitive material 54 can be improved.

In the first embodiment, the ND filter 51 is omitted, and a laser generator capable of changing the power of the emitted laser beam is used instead of the He-Ne laser 12 to record images at a high reduction ratio. In this case, the power of the laser beam emitted from the laser generator may be reduced and the amplitude of the signal input to the acousto-optic element 18 may be controlled to be equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the ND filter 51 is inserted into the optical path only when recording an image at a high reduction ratio to increase the amplitude of the signal input to the acousto-optic element 18. 51 may be fixed in the state of being inserted into the optical path, and a signal with a large amplitude may always be input. Also, the ND filter 51 may be omitted, and the ND filter 51 may be omitted.
The He-Ne laser 12
The power of the laser beam emitted from the laser beam may be adjusted. [Second Embodiment] A second embodiment of the present invention will be described below. Note that the same parts as in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. Further, the present invention is not limited to the numerical values described in the second embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 6, the laser scanning device 10 of the second embodiment uses He-Ne as an auxiliary laser generator.
It includes a laser 12A and a He-Ne laser 12B as a main laser generator. Each He-Ne laser is connected to a power supply (not shown), and the He-Ne laser 12
A emits a laser beam L1 with wavelength λ1 and power P1, and He-Ne laser 12B emits a laser beam L1 with wavelength λ2 and power P1.
2 laser beams L2 are emitted. A reflecting mirror 92 is disposed on the laser beam emission side of the He-Ne laser 12A, and a half mirror 94 as a combining means for reflecting light of wavelength λ1 is disposed on the laser beam emission side of the He-Ne laser 12B. It is arranged. The laser beam L1 emitted from the He-Ne laser 12A is irradiated onto the reflecting mirror 92 and reflected in the direction toward the half mirror 94. Since the laser beam L1 has a wavelength of λ1, it is reflected by the half mirror 94 and passes through the AOM entrance lens 14.
is irradiated to. On the other hand, the laser beam L2 emitted from the He-Ne laser 12B is irradiated onto the half mirror 94. Since the laser beam L2 has a wavelength of λ2, it passes through the half mirror 94 and is irradiated onto the AOM entrance lens 14. Therefore, the laser beam L1 and the laser beam L2 are combined by the half mirror 94, and the power P1
The AOM entrance lens 14 is irradiated as a +P2 laser beam. These He-Ne lasers 12A, 12B,
The reflecting mirror 92 and the half mirror 94 constitute input means.

As shown in FIG. 5, a He-Ne laser 12A, which is an auxiliary laser generator, is connected to a host computer 88. The host computer 88 is He-Ne.
Controls the emission and stop of the laser beam L1 from the laser 12A. This allows the host computer 88
When the laser beam L1 is emitted from the He-Ne laser 12A, the laser beam with power P1 + P2 is incident on the acousto-optic element 18 via the AOM entrance lens 14. Also, the host computer 88
When the emission of the laser beam L1 from the e-Ne laser 12A is stopped, the acousto-optic element 18 has an AO
A laser beam with a power of P2 is incident through the M incident lens 14. Here, the laser beams L1 and L2
The powers P1 and P2 are set such that the power P1 +P2 is equal to the power of the laser beam emitted from the He-Ne laser 12 of the first embodiment, and the power P2
is set to be 1/10 of the power P1 +P2. Therefore, when the He-Ne laser 12A stops emitting the laser beam L1, the power of the laser beam incident on the acousto-optic element 18 is
This is 1/10 of that when the laser 12A emits the laser beam L1.

Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In the second embodiment, instead of inserting the ND filter 51 into the optical path in step 108 of the first embodiment, the auxiliary laser generator He-Ne
Emission of the laser beam L1 of the laser 12A is stopped. Furthermore, instead of the process of retracting the ND filter 51 from the optical path in step 109 of the first embodiment, the laser beam L1 is emitted from the He-Ne laser 12A.

Therefore, when the specified reduction ratio is 1/48, the process of step 108 is executed, and He-N
Emission of the laser beam L1 of the e-laser 12A is stopped, and a laser beam of power P2 is incident on the acousto-optic element 18. For this reason, in the first embodiment, there is no ND in the optical path.
Similar to the case where the filter 51 is inserted, the acousto-optic element 18
The power of the flare emitted from the photosensitive material 54 and irradiated onto the photosensitive material 54 is suppressed to about 1/10 of that of the conventional one. On the other hand, the reduction magnification is 1
/48, the amplitude of the signal input to the acousto-optic element 18 is approximately 10 times greater, so the attenuation of the power of the laser beam incident on the acousto-optic element 18 and the acousto-optic element 18
The increase in the amplitude of the signal input to the photosensitive material 5 is canceled out, and a laser beam of normal power is emitted from the acousto-optic element 18, and the laser beam is written on the photosensitive material 5 with a normal writing power (for example, 10 μW).
4. Therefore, when the reduction magnification is 1/48, the ratio of the power of the laser beam irradiated onto the photosensitive material 54 and the power of the flare is improved by about 10 times.

As described above, in the second embodiment, when recording an image on the photosensitive material 54 at a large reduction ratio, the He- Laser beam L1 of Ne laser 12A
Since the amplitude of the signal input to the acousto-optic element 18 is increased by approximately 10 times, the ratio of the laser beam irradiated to the photosensitive material 54 and the flare can be improved, and the recording on the photosensitive material 54 can be improved. The quality of images can be improved.

Although an example in which the acousto-optic element 18 is used as the optical modulator has been described above, an optical waveguide type modulator may also be used.

Furthermore, in the above method, the power of the laser beam incident on the acousto-optic element 18 is attenuated and the amplitude of the input signal is increased only when recording an image at a reduction ratio of 1/48. The invention is not limited to this, and the invention may also be applied when recording an image at a low reduction ratio. Furthermore, for example, in the first embodiment,
An ND filter with a different attenuation rate is associated with each prepared reduction magnification, that is, each recording lens 50, and an ND filter to be inserted into the optical path of the laser beam is selected according to the specified reduction magnification, and an acousto-optic element is The amplitude of the signal input to 18 may be changed depending on the attenuation rate of the selected ND filter. In addition, the laser beam scanning device 10 is provided with image writing modes such as a normal mode that records images with standard clarity, and a fine mode that records images more clearly by reducing the size of one pixel. The writing pitch (size of one pixel), the writing power, the ratio of the power of the laser beam to the flare, etc. may be controlled to be changed according to the selected mode.

In this embodiment, a laser beam scanning device 10 that records an image using a laser beam has been described, but a light beam scanning device that records an image using LED light as a light beam, or other light sources may also be used. The present invention can be applied to a light beam scanning device that records images using a light beam scanning device. Also,
Although the laser beam scanning device 10 that records images as a light beam scanning device has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to a light beam scanning device that performs processing such as reading using a light beam. It is possible to apply this method and improve the processing quality.

[0055]

According to the invention as claimed in claim 1, the input means inputs a signal having an amplitude of a predetermined value or more to the acousto-optic element, and the input means inputs a light beam having a power of less than a predetermined value to the acousto-optic element. Therefore, an excellent effect can be obtained in that the processing quality of the light beam processing device can be improved.

In the invention according to claim 2, the power of the light beam incident on the acousto-optic element is attenuated according to the scanning conditions, and the amplitude of the signal input to the acousto-optic element is controlled to be at least a predetermined value. Therefore, in addition to the above-mentioned effects, it is also possible to selectively improve processing quality as needed, which is an excellent effect.

In the third aspect of the invention, after attenuating the power of the light incident on the acousto-optic element, the amplitude of the signal input to the acousto-optic element is increased so that the exposure amount becomes the predetermined value. Therefore, an excellent effect can be obtained in that the quality of images recorded on photosensitive materials can be improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing a control section of a laser beam scanning device according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the laser beam scanning device of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of an AOM driver.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram showing a control section of a laser beam scanning device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of a laser beam scanning device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Laser beam scanning device 12 He-Ne laser 12A He-Ne laser 12B He-Ne laser 18 Acousto-optic device (AOM) 51 ND filter 55 Filter driver 82 Signal generation circuit 84 AOM driver 88 Host computer 92 Reflection mirror 94 Half mirror

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An acousto-optic element that diffracts an incident light beam in a direction corresponding to the frequency of an input signal and emits it with a power corresponding to the amplitude of the signal; A light beam scanning device comprising an input means for inputting an input to an acousto-optic element, and an input means for inputting a light beam having a power equal to or less than a predetermined value to the acousto-optic element. 2. An acousto-optic element that diffracts an incident light beam in a direction corresponding to the frequency of the input signal and outputs the diffracted light beam with a power corresponding to the amplitude of the signal; and an acousto-optic element that inputs the signal to the acousto-optic element. an input means; an input means for making the light beam incident on the acousto-optic element; A light beam scanning device comprising an input means and a control means for controlling the input means. 3. The incident light beam is scanned by a light beam emitted from an acousto-optic element which diffracts the incident light beam in a direction corresponding to the frequency of the input signal and emits the light beam with a power corresponding to the amplitude of the signal. When recording an image so that the exposure amount per unit area of the material becomes a predetermined value, the amplitude of the signal input to the acousto-optic element is increased after attenuating the power of the light incident on the acousto-optic element. A light beam scanning method in which the exposure amount is adjusted to the predetermined value.