PIEZOELECTRIC LASER SCANNER

摘要

A piezoelectric bimorph scanner is disclosed which has a flexural beam attached to the free end of a cantilever mounted piezoelectric bimorph crystal. A mirror is bonded to the flexural beam a predetermined distance from the bimorph crystal. An AC voltage of predetermined frequency is applied to the bimorph crystal causing the flexural beam to oscillate with a node at the center of the mirror. The mirror rotates about the node rather than swinging in an arc, enabling the scanner to deflect a collimated light beam over a larger deflection angle than heretofore possible without additional light beam control apparatus. In an alternate embodiment, a laser diode may be mounted on the flexural beam instead of the mirror, further reducing costs and components.